


The Huntress, Mad Dog, and Angel

by TheSassBrit



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bryn McFinnigan, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Jaramogi, Kenyan Character, Mutual Pining, Oneshot collection, Original Characters - Freeform, and i love tracers gf too much, because that comic was amazing, bryn can be her own lady tho, explicit because of future language, give me time, i took off bryn and tracer, irish character, just a mild one, no real plot, oneshots, will become explicit for other reasons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-28 23:25:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 46,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8466952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSassBrit/pseuds/TheSassBrit
Summary: Jaramogi never imagined seeing her former Strike Commander when she rejoined Overwatch, and NEVER would she imagine him actually paying attention to her for once. Bryn McFinnigan never thought she would come back to Overwatch after everything that happened in the past. Can she move on from the ghosts of her past?Anela finally responds to the Recall, despite her doubts. Will she finally be able to tie up loose ends? (Reading Missed Shots, may help, btw)





	1. Group Training

Jaramogi couldn’t remember a time training was this fun.

Winston had suggested the idea and the other members of the new Overwatch couldn’t help but agree that it would be best for everyone. The small base near where their watchpoint in Gibraltar used to be was the perfect training course. The landing pad right outside the entrance of the base was the perfect spot to mimic a cargo pick up. 

If the other team could take the point, Athena would move the ‘payload’ if members of the other team could stay near it. 

Jara liked the defense point because she could make her vantage point in the building beside where the payload was and she had a walkway she could run to if she needed to escape quickly. The downside of that was that she would be in the open, but it would give her a chance to regroup. The other great thing about the spot was that it would be hard for the attacking team to flank since there was truly only one-way in.

The fact they were practicing with paintballs made it even more fun. 

Jara’s team were supposed to defend a point and the other team was trying to take it. The other team had blue paint and Jara’s team had yellow paint. 

The sniper had found the perfect vantage point and her team was doing their job amazingly. Winston was back at the ‘payload’ and protecting it with McCree. Lucio, Mercy, and Torbjorn were off to the side, protecting the very few flanking positions. Jara and Pharah were the protection from above. 

The other team consisted of Soldier 76, Mei, Ana, Genji, Zenyatta, D.va, Reinhardt, and Tracer. 

So far, not one have them have been able to get by Huntress, Pharah, or Torbjorn’s turret, which was the point of this whole exercise. 

Overwatch had been having trouble taking points like this and Winston’s suggestion was hitting two birds with one stone. They get to practice and take this time to relax for a little bit and have fun. 

Besides, it was even more fun to take out Soldier 76 and Tracer with paintballs constantly. Seeing Genji splattered with yellow was fun too.

Jara even cheated, listening in with her biotic enhancement to hear 76 grumbling angrily as he stomped back to the main point every time she got him. For some reason, she liked 76’s voice when he was practically growling in anger. So Jara kept hitting him.

Tracer just complained that yellow wasn’t her color and she would zip back to have Athena clean her up. 

This time, they weren’t charging in like they have been. 

“Any sign?” Pharah asked through the comm.

“None,” Jara said quietly, scanning the other potential vantage points. Ana was out there somewhere, and Jara was determined to find her. 

The thundering footsteps of Reinhardt reached her ears and everyone was following behind him but Soldier 76 and Ana. The tank had his shield up and the attacking team was taking their time. 

“Enemy sighted,” Jara announced, taking aim. 

It was strange to not see Soldier 76 in the group. Where was he? It would be stupid for him to try to flank alone. Then again, this was Soldier 76 she was talking about. 

“Soldier 76 is not with the group, stay on your feet,” she reported. 

“It’s ‘stay on your toes’ darlin’, and I copy ya,” McCree answered. 

The wind shifted and Jara inhaled, catching the scent of pine needles and rain, eyes widening. Her ears pricked when she heard footsteps and she quickly put her rifle on her back and got her shotgun out. She usually liked it when Soldier 76 was near her, but now it was terrifying. She knew she had an advantage on him when she had enough space, but now wasn’t the case. 

Soldier 76 somehow found her and she yelped and rolled to the side as he fired his rifle. Blue paint splattered where she was standing. Her vantage point had been at the open balcony at the building next to the defense point, but now she had to haul her ass. 

Without thinking she sprinted down the corridor and she skidded to a halt when she reached the entrance to the walkway at the end. 

“Huntress! Where are you?” Pharah barked. 

“Soldier 76 is on me. I need cover fire!”

“What?!” 

Jara rolled behind another column in the corridor as more of 76’s paintballs came firing toward her. Gathering her wits, Jara did the only thing she could. She ran back out in the open. She fired a shot back at 76, forcing him to stop firing and dodge. She was able to make it to the walkway over the road leading to the main part of the base, hoping that would give her teammate the chance to get him if he came out. 

76 fired at her and she dove forward to avoid the shots. She activated her armors cloaking device, sighing in relief when he halted in his tracks, staring straight at her. She knew he was waiting for the slightest move from her. His visor would pick it up instantly.

Dammit, he wasn’t coming out in the open. And it was too far away for her to fire her shotgun. And she knew even he could hear her if she unclipped her rifle. 

So, she only had one option. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted forward, deactivating her cloaking device when she was close enough. 

Here went nothing.

* * *

Tracer liked to think she could focus when she needed to. 

She was having a hard time when she glanced up to see Soldier 76 and Huntress practically battling it out on top of the walkway over the road. 

“Are you all seeing what I’m seeing?” she asked, not able to take her eyes off the sight. 

Huntress was giving the old man a run for his money. 

Jara usually surprised people when she showed she could fight in up close combat, something most snipers weren’t known for doing. But everyone knew better than to sneak up on her. McCree would be the first to tell someone not to. 

It was amazing, how everyone just seemed to stop to watch them. Torbjorn even turned off his turret. 

McCree’s voice suddenly sounded in everyone’s ears. “All in favor of havin’ them determine the match?”

Everyone agreed, lowering their weapons. 

Tracer watched as Jara was able to dodge most of 76’s attacks. The woman was as slippery as an eel when she needed to be. Tracer knew Jara’s method of hand to hand combat was to use the enemy’s power against them and 76 had a lot of power to play with. 

Lena was seeing that now and she almost felt bad for 76. Then again, it looked like Huntress was barely able to counter him.

The soft sound of feet had Tracer glancing over at Ana, who had rejoined them. 

Their plan for this round was to have 76 take out the sniper and Pharah so the rest of the team could focus on the turret and capturing the payload. 

It was a good plan, until watching 76 and Huntress became a better idea. 

“This is wicked,” Tracer giggled. 

Ana huffed. “No, it’s not that.”

Huntress was able to fire her shotgun, but 76 dodged it and lifted his rifle, Huntress kicked out a leg from her crouched position and knocked him off balance before he could fire a shot. 

“What is it then?” Tracer asked. 

Ana looked at her with an amused expression. “This is flirting.”

Tracer’s eyes widened and she stared up at the two with a different mindset. She could see the grin on Jara’s lips as she continued to dodge or deflect 76’s punches. And after fighting with both of them for so long, Tracer could see that this wasn’t them going all out. 

She saw plenty of moments where either of them could have lifted their gun and shot, but didn’t. 

“Bloody hell,” Tracer mumbled, trying not to laugh. 

Ana was right, this was flirting to the extreme. 

Everyone gasped when Jara was backed up to the edge and she started to pinwheel her arms. Tracer tilted her head. She knew Jara had better balance then that. What was she playing at?

Reinhardt was already running as fast as he could to where he could catch her and Pharah was floating nearby. 

Soldier 76 reached out and grabbed one of her arms. 

Everyone gasped again when Huntress leaned back and pulled them both off the ledge.

* * *

Soldier 76 couldn’t believe it. 

She tricked him. 

As soon as they were over the edge, he heard the hiss of her grappling hook shooting out toward the walkway and then he was swinging. 

His world turned upside down when they got close to the ground and she let go. The momentum of the fall caused him to lose his grip and he slammed into the ground, rolling plenty of feet. He sucked in as much air as he could, cursing his lungs. He despised getting the air knocked out of him.

Well, at least she dropped him close to the ground. 

He scrambled for his gun when he heard the familiar click of her rifle being removed. He looked up and saw her getting ready for a shot down towards the walkway. He debated whether he could hide behind the car they were using as a ‘payload’ and he knew his chances were slim. 

His tactical visor sprung to life and he shot. 

Then, his world was yellow. 

His head snapped back and he was knocked on his ass again and he was glad he was wearing his mask or he would be eating paint. 

“Jack! Are you alright?!”

Jara sounded far too concerned for someone who just shot him in the face. 

Her footsteps quickly approached and he managed to stand, taking off his visor and mask. He flicked it, frowning at how paint covered the middle of the eyepiece and most of his mask.

Jack was a little satisfied when he saw four splotches of blue paint on her chest. “I’m fine,” he growled, flicking his mask and visor again. Yellow paint splashed on both of them. 

Jara frowned too. “Don’t be a sourpuss. You’re the one who made it up front and personal.”

“Up close and personal,” Jack corrected, “And it was because you kept picking us off!”

Jara’s frown turned into an impish grin. “What can I say? I had you in my sights.”

Jack’s breath hitched in his throat when he recognized his catch phrase. Jesus, he really wanted to kiss her now. The whole fight had him bothered in the first place. He always did like a woman who could kick his ass. “That’s my line,” he argued, gulping heavily. 

“Athena! Who got smoked first?” McCree shouted. 

“Huntress eliminated Soldier 76 by .001 seconds.”

Jack suddenly realized that both teams were standing under the walkway. “What the hell is going on?” he barked, walking toward them. 

Jara was close behind. 

“We wanted to see who won between you and Mogi, Gov’na!” Tracer laughed. 

“It was a good fight,” Reinhardt laughed. 

Everyone was nodding in agreement at that point and Jack didn’t know whether to be flattered or irritated. He settled for irritated. “This was supposed to be an exercise to practice battle tactics and—“

“Aw Hell, Morrison, it was fun! ‘Sides, now all the kids will know how to kick your ass.” McCree looked at Jara. “Helluva good fight there, Mogi.”

Jara was now standing beside him and she rolled her eyes with an amused grin. “I would have lost if I was using my shotgun in the end.”

“So? That was awesome!” D.va cheered. 

Everyone started to talk about the fight and Jack knew there was no salvaging this. Soon, the attention was taken off of them and moved to the exercise itself. Teammates from the opposite teams were congratulating each other and they started to move toward the entrance to clean up for the day. 

A soft touch on his arm had him looking at Jara. “Really, are you alright? I know how powerful my rifle is and it could have hurt your neck—“

“Jara,” Jack interrupted, “it was a paintball. And my visor and mask are reinforced.”

“I know but they still hurt!”

They had stopped in the middle of the road and Jack stared down at her, watching her fidget and bite her lip. He was still feeling hot and bothered by the whole situation and he thought she looked beautiful. Even with the splotch of blue paint on her cheek. The bright color was a stark contrast to her dark skin and her wide, dark brown eyes were filled with worry.

Before he could think, he reached up and swiped his thumb across the splotch. 

His hand lingered and their eyes met again and his heart was racing from a different kind of adrenaline now. All of the reasons why he shouldn’t be doing that suddenly appeared and he dropped his hand, gulping down the lump in his throat. 

“C’mon, let’s go get cleaned up.”

He started to walk in the base and his heart felt heavy the whole way.


	2. The Mad Dog Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracer recalls when Bryn McFinnigan rejoined the Overwatch team

Tracer remembered the day they had to go find Bryn McFinnigan. 

Soldier 76 had called them all together and told them they needed to find an old Overwatch agent that would be the key to taking down Widowmaker. Tracer remembered standing next to McCree and another Overwatch veteran, Jaramogi, when she realized just who Jack was talking about. 

Winston then cut in, pushing his glasses up his nose. “She’s an expert on weapons and tactical tools. She’s the genius behind many of the tools we use now.”

Tracer instantly knew who they were talking about and she gulped. Bryn ‘Mad Dog’ McFinnigan was brash, loud, reckless, and downright crazy sometimes. Yet, she was funny and every crazy bloody thing she did was because she was trying to help someone else. 

And she just liked explosions. Tracer remembered the Irishwoman telling her that once. 

Bryn also just downright didn’t like Tracer. 

Tracer didn’t have a bloody thing against the Irish. She thought it was a silly feud to have with everything that was going on in the world. 

But, she was a Brit and that was all that mattered to Bryn. 

She quickly paid attention to the meeting again. “I will be taking Mercy, Huntress, McCree, D.va, and,” Jack paused and Tracer hoped with all her heart she wasn’t going to be picked for once, “Tracer.”

Dammit.

* * *

“Guv’na, I have a question,” Tracer said once they were settled in the cockpit of the transport. Her hands were gripping the steering mechanism as hard as they could. 

“What?” 76 growled, buckling himself in. He was going to lead her to the coordinates of the last place Bryn was seen. Or, at least where her Overwatch communicator was. They were planning on going from there. 

“If I may, why was I brought along? I might be the last person she wants to see.”

76 didn’t answer for a few moments before he looked at her. She could barely see his eyes behind the glass of the visor. “I brought everyone on this team along for a reason. She likes McCree because he’s a little shit. Hana is famous. Jara and her did a lot of recon together. She respects me and Angela.” He paused and hummed in thought. “And she likes you more than you think.”

Tracer laughed. “No she doesn’t.”

“Suit yourself,” 76 growled, leaning back in the seat, sliding his fingers across a tablet. 

They made it to the drop point in Ireland and Tracer parked the transport in the middle of a wide field on the moor. 

The fresh scent of heather and the crisp breeze surrounded them, almost making Tracer forget how nervous she was. Jara, of course, noticed. “You alright?” the tall, Kenyan woman asked, arching a thin brow. 

“I’m fine, Luv!”

“Hm,” Jara hummed in response, “You don’t have to be nervous. Bryn likes you.”

“Are you thick?” Tracer squeaked.

“No, I know this for a fact. She likes you.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Jara shrugged with an amused smile. “Suit yourself.”

Tracer forgot how much her friend and her former Commander were like. Jara just was nicer and more gentle about it. And she was prettier. 

Everyone looked around. The tracker told them that Bryn’s communicator was here. But there was only moorland. Jara looked around, looking confused. “That’s strange.”

Everyone looked at her. “What’s strange, darlin’?” McCree asked, holding his hat on his head. The wind made his serape whip around his shoulders. 

“Her scent is really strong here,” Jara mumbled, taking another deep breath. “She smokes only a certain type of cigarette and I smell them and her.”

Everyone looked around in confusion and curiosity before 76 sighed heavily. “Well, we found her.” He stomped and a metallic clang sounded through the air. “Her dad used to pull the same shit,” he growled, “Make a bunker and hide.”

“Alright ya shites!” the sharp, slightly rough voice of Bryn yelled out. It sounded like it was coming from a speaker. “Who the fuck decided to wake me up from me nap?!”

Tracer winced a little. That woman’s accent was always the strongest. 

“Aw, Bryn, it’s good to hear ya too,” McCree retorted, putting a cigar in his mouth. 

“Is that Jesse fuckin’ McCree?” 

Tracer yelped when a camera suddenly lifted out of the ground. Its beady lens looked up at McCree. “What the fuck happened to yer face?” Bryn’s megaphoned voice asked. 

“What? Ya don’t like ma beard?” he asked, rubbing his metal hand along it. 

“Fuck no.” The camera whipped around toward Jara and Angela. “And look at this, the two most gorgeous women of the greyscale are here.” 

Jara put a hand on her hip and shook her head with a fond smile. Angela just rolled her eyes. “Missed you too, Bryn,” Angela greeted. 

The camera whipped toward D.va. “And Hana Fuckin’ Song on me doorstep. How ‘bout that?”

Finally, it looked at Tracer. “Ah, and the cute Brit herself! Now, who’s the fucker on my door?”

Tracer yelped and zipped away when the ground started to lift, showing a metal hatch into an underground bunker. The metal hatch was at least 3 meters wide and 3 long. 76 was wobbling on top of the door. 

After regaining his balance, he hopped down and he walked over to the camera. He squatted down, looking straight into the lens. “Hello McFinnigan,” he growled. 

Tracer stiffened. Who knew how Bryn was going to react to Jack being alive? She was either going to be ecstatic, angry, or a mixture of both. 

“Where the fuck did ya get that visor?” Bryn’s voice said quietly. 

Tracer got nervous. Bryn was only quiet when she was furious.

Before anyone could say or do anything, stomping could be heard from the bunker. Soon enough, Bryn herself stepped out into the open. 

The Irish woman’s hair was longer than the last time Tracer saw her, and it was as wild and curly as ever. The deep red color only added to the wild look and it was barely held back with a headband. Her big goggles took up most of her face, almost hiding her flashing green eyes. A burning cigarette was in-between her red lips. Her freckles stood out on her pale skin and it was slowly getting redder as she got angrier.

There was a reason her code name was ‘Mad Dog’. 

“Last I fockin’ checked, I had that visor under lock and key and could only be opened with TWO people’s fingerprints. Me own,” She paused and got in 76’s face. “And Morrison’s. Now either you are an EXTREMELY good hacker, or you got somethin’ to fockin’ tell me, ya shite.”

The cigarette smoke swirled in 76’s face, making the glow from the visor appear more bright. “It’s me. Morrison,” he finally said. 

“Bull fuckin’ shite. Prove it.”

“How?”

“Answer a question only Morrison will know the answer too,” she stood up on the tips of her toes and got in his space, her face inches from his, “What’s the shape of me birthmark and where is it?”

Everyone looked at 76 in bewilderment. First off, why would Jack Morrison know anything about that? Two, why was Bryn asking that question? Bryn stepped back with a smug expression.

76 sighed and let his head fall back. “Goddammit McFinnigan, it’s a dog on your ass.”

Bryn chewed on her cigarette for a moment, smoking rolling off of it furiously as she took deeper, angry breaths. She gestured to the visor. “Take it off. Right. Fuckin. Now.”

76 reached up and took off the visor, revealing his scowl. 

Bryn kept staring, chewing on her cigarette still. Tracer looked around at her teammates and she was glad to see she wasn’t the only one that was tense. What was Bryn going to do? 

“Shite, and I thought Jesse’s face was fucked up now,” Bryn finally whistled, tapping some ash off her cigarette. 

76 put the visor back on. 

“I’m not gonna ask how ya survived, ya crazy bastard. What are ya doin’ here Morrison?”

“We need you to rejoin Overwatch.”

“Why?”

“You’re the only one who knows how Widowmaker’s visor works.”

A silence overcame the group as they waited for Bryn’s reaction. She took out her cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stomped it out with a booted heel. “Really? Didn’t know that. Good thing Talon does. Considerin’ they already tried to kill me a couple times,” she gestured to the bunker, “Hence me hidey hole.”

She took a new cigarette out of her trench coat pocket. “So Morrison, ye basically want me to come join yer boyband again so you can get revenge on the bastards that ruined Overwatch the first time roun’.” 

“Sounds about right.”

Bryn took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Can I blow up stuff?” 

“Within reason.”

“Access to the labs and workshops?”

“Done.”

Bryn puffed out a couple smoke rings. “Fine, I’ll come. Lemme get my things.” The redhead started to whistle as she walked back down into her bunker.

“Ya sure ya want her to have free reign, boss?” McCree asked when she was out of earshot, chewing on his own cigar. “She’s a fun drinkin’ buddy and all, but she scares me with a bomb.”

76 only grunted. 

“I like her!” Hana said, giggling. 

McCree snorted and glared at her. “Yer in a mech! If she blows something up, yer safe.”

“Calm down, Jesse,” Jara piped in. “Besides, she only likes blowing up buildings.”

“Hence why I’m worried.”

Angela just looked really tired all of a sudden.

“Sides, what if she gets distracted?” He looked over at Tracer.

“Wot?” Tracer squeaked, gesturing to herself. “I’m not a distraction! I’m gonna stay far away if I can.”

“Bryn may seem careless, but she’s meticulous on the field. She’ll protect her own,” 76 growled, staring at McCree. “You should know that the most, since she was on Blackwatch with you.”

McCree held up his hands. “Okay, I’ll drop it.” He finally grinned. “It’ll be good to have a drinkin’ buddy that can keep up fer once.”

Bryn finally came out of her bunker carrying three duffel bags. She tossed one into the transport and everyone cringed when they heard the clang of metal. Bryn looked at them, adjusting her goggles. “Wot? They’re me tools.” She tossed her other bags in. 

Everyone piled in again and Bryn sat next to McCree and Jara. Tracer could feel her green eyes following her the whole way to the cockpit. “Alright everyone, lock in because Air Tracer is taking off!” she chirped over the speakers. 

She could almost hear 76 roll his eyes next to her. 

Tracer took off and she heard a loud curse from McCree and a gasp from Mercy. 76 whipped around in his seat and his growl of anger was almost vicious. “McFinnigan if you press that button I’ll—“

His words were cut off by an earthshattering boom. 

Tracer grit her teeth as she tried to keep the transport in a straight line as it got squirrely. 

“What the hell, Mad Dog?!” McCree shouted. 

Tracer glanced out the window and saw that the bunker was now just a smoking hole in the ground. 

She heard Bryn laugh. “Can’t have them Talon bastards finding me workshop there.”

Everyone except McCree either sighed, groaned, or rolled their eyes. 

McCree smacked her on the back of the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bryn is my chaotic good baby and I love her


	3. 2 am talk

In the past, Jack tried to avoid learning all the little facts about his soldiers simply because he lost them all the time. 

He truly only got close to the select few he knew now, like Ana, Reinhardt, and Angela. 

It wasn’t until a random encounter at 2 in the morning that he realized he didn’t know all the little things about Jara, and she was a member of the ‘group that always managed to survive’. 

He rubbed the grit from his eyes as he walked down the hall toward he kitchen, needing coffee or something to get his damn mind off of the dream he just had. It was about his encounter with Reaper and Ana in Giza. Seeing your friend become the monster they saw…it does shit to you. 

Jack liked to think he could take most things in stride. 

This was taking a few shaky steps. 

He opened the door to the kitchen only to see Jara already sitting at the counter island in the middle with a mug of what he hoped was coffee. Sure enough, the coffee pot on the other end of the room was mostly full. 

“ _Jambo_ ,” Jara greeted with a yawn. She had a head wrap on and Jack tried to not look at how the oversized Overwatch t-shirt she was wearing was hanging off of one shoulder, showing more than enough skin. 

“Hey,” he grumbled, making a beeline to the coffee pot. He grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and poured himself some. He took a deep breath and the smell of the coffee was different from the usual instant stuff. “What kind of coffee is this?” he asked, daring to step over to the counter island. 

Jara grinned. “It’s from Kenya…I asked Winston to get some.”

Jack took a sip. “Pretty damn good.”

They sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying their coffee. Jara broke the silence after she refilled her mug. “So, what brings you here at this ungodly hour?” she asked. She sat down again, adjusting the wrap on her head. 

“Couldn’t sleep,” he grunted. He looked up at her. “You?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” she sighed, propping her chin on her hand. She bit her lip a little and she continued, “I had a nightmare…about my time with the APC before Overwatch.”

Ah, the APC. 

Jack remembered them from the old days. They were a terrorist group in Africa that would smuggle weapons and go into war zones on the continent and cause even more shit. The APC would round up unknowing recruits and train them, some they performed their experiments on. 

Jaramogi was one of the few they performed their experiments on. Her enhanced senses came from the microscopic biotic implants throughout her brain, eyes, ears, and nose. While they made her the perfect recon sniper, that ‘gift’ from the APC came with a price. Jara was 14 when they did that shit to her. 

She managed to escape from them at the age of 20, and that was when he and Ana found her file at one of the APC bases Overwatch took over. 

Ana found the AWOL sniper and recruited her. 

“Can I ask why you even joined them?” Jack asked, wanting to sate a curiosity he had for a long time. He always wondered how a person like Jara got roped into that shit. Terrorist would be the last word he would call her. 

Jara trailed her fingertip along the rim of the mug, looking solemn. “They had fliers all over the town I would run to for errands. My sisters and I were orphans and they were willing to pay. I was always a good shot when I hunted and they said they wanted to help, so I joined.”

Jack admitted that he didn’t know that much about the inner machinations of the Luo people of Kenya, but the little he knew made him curious about her story. “Didn’t your people support you?” he asked. 

A small scoff escaped from her lips. “They did…but none of us were going to get married or get out of our situation faster because we were poor.” She rubbed at her nose. “Anyway, that was why I joined. It was a job.”

Jack downed the rest of his coffee and poured himself another mug. He sat down again. 

They stayed in another comfortable silence, just enjoying the coffee. 

“I’m glad I joined them though.” 

Jack arched a brow, waiting for her to explain. 

She grinned and Jack found himself staring at the sight. Jesus, she really was beautiful. 

“Joining them let me get my senses, and I got to be recruited into Overwatch. I learned so much and I got to see the world. I got to meet Ana, Jesse, Lena, and all my other friends.” She bashfully looked up at him. “I got to meet you. So it all turned out for the best.”

Their eyes met and Jack’s heart started to thud against his ribcage. He honestly didn’t know what to say. The way she said ‘you’ seemed to set him apart from the others, and he found himself liking that idea. Instead of addressing it, he avoided it. “We’re glad you joined too. Ana always bragged about you.”

Jara snorted out a laugh. “Did she? I would have thought otherwise with the way she trained me.”

A wry grin came to his lips. Ana’s tough love did send mixed signals sometimes. “No, she really did like you. I could tell.”

“And then there was your training,” Jara added on, smirking. 

“Kept your ass out of trouble, didn’t it?” he grumbled. 

“It did,” she admitted. 

Jack glanced up at the clock, seeing that it was 3 now. Shit. He downed the rest of his coffee and he stood up. He took her empty mug and put them in the sink. “Thanks for the coffee.”

Jara smiled at him, and Jack’s heart thudded in response again. “Thank you for talking.”

“Anytime.” 

And he meant it.


	4. Halloween

Jaramogi couldn’t remember the last time she celebrated Halloween. 

Tracer had always dragged her to the Overwatch parties in the past, and she was surprised the recalled Overwatch was having a party at all. Jara soon found herself in the mess hall of the old Gibraltar base, Lucio was at the end of the room, dressed up as a vampire and being the DJ. Hana was bouncing around next to him, dressed up in a cardboard version of her mecha. 

Winston was dressed as a safari explorer. Angela was a witch and Fareeha was a zombie. Bryn was dressed as the Mad Hatter, which was fitting for her. Mei was dressed as a polar bear and Zarya was some famous Russian athlete Jara didn’t know about. Everyone was having fun and appeared to be having a good time and Jara couldn’t help but feel relaxed for the first time in what seemed like months. 

Jara was dressed as a pirate with Lena. Both of them were the perfect pirate maidens and Jara found herself having a good time. 

She was pouring herself another drink when she felt a tap on her shoulder. McCree gestured to the whiskey she was holding. “Mind if ya pour me one, darlin’?” 

Rolling her eyes, Jara tipped up her pirate hat with a smirk. “I suppose I can.”

McCree’s eyes lit up and Jara poured him a drink. They both tipped it back and Jara cringed at the burn of the whiskey in her throat. McCree was already pouring himself another one. “How can you drink so much of that stuff?” 

McCree shrugged. “Doncha know? I’ve been drinking this stuff since I was old enough to drink. You should probably stick to rum, Capt’n.” 

Jara rolled her eyes at the pirate joke. She smoothed out her skirt beneath her corset. She honestly loved the costume. It was comfortable and the leggings underneath the skirt let her move around freely. She also liked the billowy sleeves of her blouse. They were dark red and she liked how they flowed around her arms. McCree, meanwhile, just dressed up in normal cowboy clothes instead of his usual armor. Plaid shirt, leather vest, chaps and all.

The smell of pine needles and rain suddenly met her nose and she looked around the room for the person it belonged to. She hadn’t expected him to come, since he was normally a private person, but there he was leaning against the wall near the entrance. 

“Whatcha smellin’?” McCree asked, taking a big drink of his whiskey. His heavy arm fell around her shoulders. 

Jara rolled her eyes. She was used to the question. McCree was one of her oldest friends and he was one of the few that remembered how strong her senses were. 

“Nothing.”

“Callin’ bullshit,” McCree snorted, tightening his hold around her. “You noticed the Thriller didn’t ya?” 

Jara rolled her eyes. “So what if I did?” 

McCree leaned close with a shit eating grin. “I know ya still like him, Mogi.” 

Jaramogi cleared her throat, not knowing how to answer. She would be the first to admit that she might have had a crush on Jack Morrison in the old days when she first joined Overwatch 26 years ago. She couldn’t help it. She was young and was constantly sent on missions with him and the other top members. He taught her so much and she couldn’t help but be grateful to him and Ana for wanting to recruit her in the first place. It didn’t help that his eyes looked bluer than the sky over Lake Victoria on a clear day and his voice reminded her of liquid smoke when he spoke. 20-year-old Jara didn’t stand a chance when she saw the Strike Commander. 

Now, even though she was 46 and he was supposedly back from the dead and she still didn’t have a chance, she watched him. 

Jara honestly didn’t know what to think about him being alive and helping them at first. He abandoned Overwatch once, what was going to stop him from abandoning them once more?

He claimed it was because his investigation into the cause of Overwatch’s disbandment was too big for just him to handle and he needed help. 

Jara believed it was because he missed this. 

She could tell with how he taught the new recruits and gave them tips. She saw it when he threw himself into battle, trying to protect them all and making her job of protecting them from above harder. She could even tell when they were all together and relaxing like this. He was watching the room with sharp eyes, making sure everyone was safe, even now. 

And even though Jara wanted to be mad at him for hiding from everyone for six years and making them believe he was gone, she couldn’t help but be intrigued by him again. His face had far more lines around his eyes and mouth than he used to, and two scars cut across it, but that didn’t hide the fact that he was handsome. And his hair finally turned white. It was more of a silver-blond color back when she last saw him. 

And his voice still caused shivers to go down Jaramogi’s spine, even now. 

“Enjoyin’ the view now?” McCree snickered, pulling her against his side in a hug. The smell of tobacco and leather filled her senses. 

“Shut it,” she huffed, finally pouring herself another drink. 

“No one blames ya, darlin’.” 

Jara looked over at the old soldier again and her breath hitched when their eyes met. God, he was always intense, but this look was different. His expression softened and he gave her a nod. 

Taking a deep breath, Jara took a deep swig of her rum and coke and McCree sent her off with a word of encouragement. Sure, she and Jack had actually talked more since her return after the recall and she even found herself talking to him over meals, sitting in the rec room or even training together. 

Unlike before, where she felt like she constantly had to give him respect, she was able to see him as an actual person in a way. It was a welcome change.

She finally reached his side, poking his arm. “Who are you supposed to be?” 

Jack shrugged, tugging at the sleeve of the red jacket. “Ever heard of Michael Jackson?”

“Who?”

Jack huffed out a laugh, which caused another shiver to go down her spine. “No point in explaining then.” He crossed his arms and continued looking around the room. 

“It’s good to see everyone relaxing for once. We’ve all been on the go ever since the recall,” Jara mused, taking a sip of her drink. She heavily leaned back on the wall next to him. 

Jack nodded, tensing a little when he saw Hana stumbling across the makeshift dance floor. He was getting ready to push himself off the wall until Angela caught her and handed her a bottle of water. 

“Well, everyone but you,” Jara snickered. 

Jack huffed, crossing his arms again. “Someone has to keep their head on straight for you guys.” He glanced over at her. “So what’s with the pirate get up?”

Jara shrugged. “Lena’s idea. I had none, since we don’t really celebrate Halloween in Kenya.”

A small frown came to his lips. “You dressed up in the past, didn’t you?”

Jara giggled, pointing to Lena, who was dancing with Fareeha and the others. “Her ideas.” She gently nudged him. “Speaking of dressing up in the past, I recall you being very American one year.”

A low groan left him as he let his head fall back against the wall. “I will always regret the Evel Knievel costume.”

Jara shrugged. “You managed to pull it off. Looked good on you.” Her tipsy mind finally realized what she said and she gulped heavily, avoiding looking at him at all costs. 

“Hm…” he hummed and Jara felt as if her whole body was tingling when he leaned closer to her. “I seem to recall you pulling off a policeman outfit yourself.”

He pushed off the wall and started to make his way over to where Hana was curled into a ball on the floor and he glanced back at her over his shoulder. Jara’s heart was threatening to pound out of her chest. He…noticed what she wore in the past? 

He noticed what she freaking wore in the past?!

Jara clutched to her drink, eyes never leaving him as he got the young Korean to her feet and helped her stumble out of the room, most likely to help her to her quarters. 

“Jara, are you alright luv?” Lena asked, blipping next to her. Her pirate outfit was similar to Jara’s, only she had an eyepatch along with the hat and a hook on her hand. 

“I think…I think I’m dreaming,” Jara mumbled. 

“Huh? Why?”

Jara looked over at her. “Remember our police outfits?”

“Yeah! We looked pretty good,” Tracer laughed. 

“Well, he noticed.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think?” Jara slurred. Crap, the alcohol was hitting her.

Lena blinked for a couple moments before giggles escaped from her. “He did now?” She put her hands on her hips with a cheeky grin. “How ‘bout that?”

“Lena, this is bad.”

“Nope, it’s good. And I think the corset helped this year.”

Jara frowned at her best friend. “What?”

Lena wiggled her eyebrows. “You do realize you’re wearing the sexier outfit out of the two of us? And he was watching you the whole time, I was keeping an eye out.”

The poor agent had no idea what to say or do, so she just tossed the rest of her drink back. “Lena, you’re a horrible person.”

“If being horrible finally gets you the man you’ve had a crush on for almost a decade, then I’ll be as horrible as I have to be.”

Jara tried to shove her, but was too tipsy to actually succeed.

* * *

Jack returned to the party after he made sure Hana was in bed and Angela was able to come and relieve him. 

He pulled at the collar of his black t-shirt under the red jacket, feeling out of place among the crowd of agents. He never did like social functions. He always either avoided the crowd or stayed close to Ana or Reyes back in the day. He only came to this one because both Ana and Angela threatened him and he didn’t want either one of them to be irritated at him. Despite her kind disposition, Angela could be terrifying when she wanted to be. 

His eyes scanned the room and he found one of the few other people he didn’t mind being around. 

Jaramogi had changed over the 6 years he hadn’t been around her. She was more confident now and she actually looked him in the eye when they talked. She seemed more comfortable with herself and others too. In the past she rarely got out of her shell. Now, she was more easy going and relaxed. Jack noticed the change immediately and he couldn’t help but think it was a good one. 

Which brought back feelings he didn’t think existed anymore. 

He would have been lying if he didn’t notice how beautiful she was in the past. Her dark skin reminded him of the earth right after it rained and he knew his heart skipped a beat when her dark brown eyes met his from time to time. 

That was all it was, though, just an acknowledgment of her beauty. He never thought to act on it, or actually see anything past her being a teammate and subordinate. 

Now…now was a different story. 

Now, they were basically equals, both vigilantes working with an illegal organization and there were no ranks among them. 

And he had to admit, he was secretly enjoying the time they had together so far. She had a quiet sort of calmness around her that he appreciated and she never seemed scared of him, like some of the other recruits. She even had the gall to sass back to him, which he found himself liking. 

He still couldn’t get her earlier expression out of his head. She looked so dumbstruck when he mentioned the police outfit. 

Not that this year’s costume was any less distracting. The corset hugged her slim figure almost too perfectly, and the skirt and leggings did nothing to hide some of the best legs he had ever seen. And the shirt and corset was doing things he wished they didn’t. 

Quickly looking away, he found Reinhardt on the other side of the room, drinking with Ana. 

Ana had on a different version of her field outfit, only with a jack-o-lantern mask and Rein was dressed up as a ghoul or ghost or some shit like that. 

“Jack! About time you joined us!” the German bellowed. 

Jack nodded his head toward the door. “Someone had to make sure Hana got to her room alright. Dumb kid,” he growled. To be honest, he liked Hana too, but she was reckless sometimes. 

“Is she alright?” Ana asked, tilting her head. 

“She’s fine,” Jack took a seat, “Angela’s with her.”

“Protective as always,” Ana huffed. Jack could hear the smile behind her words. 

All three of them looked out at the younger agents. “I’m glad they can still enjoy themselves,” Reinhardt noted, downing the rest of his beer. 

Jack couldn’t help but agree. He was glad these kids didn’t have the same experiences he did. He was glad to see the comradery that still existed between them and their ability to be happy despite everything that happened. He forgot what that felt like, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t feel it again. 

After a few songs, he found his eyes drifting back to Jaramogi without thinking about it. Jesus, he had barely gotten to know her again and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. 

The dark red lipstick she was wearing was making him imagining things that he hadn’t thought about anyone in a long time. 

She and Tracer were playing beer pong with McCree and Genji, and by the looks of it, the boys were losing. She and Lena high fived when Jara made another shot. 

“You’re staring,” Ana hissed in his ear. 

Jack looked at her with a scowl. “At what?”

Ana tilted her head and Jack could just imagine her knowing smirk behind her mask. “Don’t be coy, Jack.”

“Ana, I couldn’t be coy if I tried,” he grumbled, suddenly feeling like he needed a drink.

“Well then, since you’re being coy,” she sat back and tapped Reinhardt’s arm, “Doesn’t Jaramogi look good tonight?”

Reinhardt, who was more focused on his beer than their conversation, perked up at the question. “She does! Then again, all of you ladies are as lovely as ever.”

Ana smacked his shoulder playfully. “Charmer.”

Jack grumbled under his breath. 

“What about you, Jack? Doesn’t she look lovely?” Ana teased. 

Reinhardt snorted into his beer. “Are we addressing Jack’s hidden feelings for—“

“Both of you shut it right now,” Jack snapped, reaching over to Reinhardt’s cooler and grabbing a beer. 

Ah, yes, this was why they were his best friends now. 

Jack almost hated it. 

Almost.


	5. Good Irishwoman

Bryn “Mad Dog” McFinnigan did _not_ like a Brit. 

She hated the British, like any good Irishwoman. 

Even if that Brit had the cutest grin, pretty brown eyes and legs that went on for days. 

So when she rejoined Overwatch, she avoided Lena Oxton at all cost. She threw herself into her work, creating new tools with Winston and making adjustments to 76’s visor, fixing the aiming mechanism on D.va’s mech, and even helping Torbjorn with his shite. 

Now, she had nothing to do and she was readjusting the 360 vision on her glasses. They could be called goggles, but Bryn really couldn’t see shite without them, so they were her goggle-glasses. She tapped in another equation on the computer her goggles were linked to and she grinned when she saw the screen in the goggles light up again. 

She slipped them on, pressing the button for the 360 function and she sighed in relief when everything was crystal clear. She turned her head from side to side and satisfaction filled her chest. She turned it off, looking at her reflection that barely showed in the computer monitor. Shite, her hair was a bigger mess than usual. She blew a stray, red curl out of her face and she pushed her goggles up her nose. 

She started on her next project, which was the reason why she rejoined Overwatch in the first place. The bitch that killed Gerrard took a tool her father created when he was the visor expert, and she was going to render her helpless. The infrared goggles Jonathan McFinnigan created were ingenius. They allowed the wearer to not only see their enemies in sight, but also out of sight. No one could hide. 

And Talon’s top assassin stole them when she infiltrated them. 

Bryn still had the schematics, thanks to a spare flashdrive her father managed to save when Overwatch was disbanded, and she pulled them up. 

Right as she was in the middle of the blueprints, she felt a small tap on her shoulder. 

She turned on the 360 vision on her glasses, almost sighing when she saw Tracer’s cheeky grin. “Hiya! Dinner’s started, don’t want ya to miss out on it,” the tiny Brit announced, stepping around Bryn to stand next to her. 

Bryn grunted, trying to ignore how her whole side was tingling, like it was hyperaware of Lena’s presence. “I’ll come down when I get through this shite,” she grumbled. Dammit, she needed a cigarette. 

“Aw, c’mon Bryn. McCree made those burritos you like!”

Dammit, Bryn was a sucker for burritos. She didn’t know why they were so good, but they managed to steal her heart. In that aspect, she was a bad Irishwoman. 

“Fine! I’m coming,” she sighed, saving her work and standing from the workbench. 

“Race ya there!” Tracer teased, zipping out of the room. 

Bryn rolled her eyes, sticking her hands in her pockets and following at her own pace. Lena would occasionally zip back to make sure she was coming. 

Everyone was already down in the mess hall when she got there. She noticed that the newer recruits quickly looked away when they saw her. Good, the little shites needed to know who was boss. 

Soldier 76, Reinhardt, Ana, and the other veterans were another story though. “About time you get down here,” Jack grumbled, crossing his arms. 

Bryn took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth. “Ya didn’ hafta wait for me Morrison.” 

He just huffed and gestured to the kitchen part of the mess hall.

Bryn suddenly realized that no one else was eating. What the shite? “What the fok is goin’ on?” she asked, glaring at Tracer. 

Lena beamed at her. “Welcome back to Overwatch! We never did this for you and we did it for everyone else.”

Everyone suddenly started to cheer and Bryn felt her cheeks get hot. She needed to get out of the center of attention. Fast. 

“Darlin’, come try this burrito. I’m tryin’ out a new recipe,” McCree ordered, giving her a light shove toward the food bar. 

McCree got her a plate and he leaned down and whispered, “Thank Lena when you have the chance darlin, this was all her idea.”

Bryn’s cigarette almost fell out of her mouth

Well, shite.


	6. Tables have flipped

Jara looked out at the sight before her.

The old castle at Eichenwalde was beautiful and the little village surrounding it had a cute atmosphere to it, despite the destruction. This was one of Jara’s favorite things about joining Overwatch. She got to see things. When she was a little girl, she would look out across Lake Victoria, asking her grandmother if there was anything beyond the vast lake and the plains around it. 

Her grandmother told her it was a big world, and that it would be Jara’s job to see it for them. 

Jara tried to send pictures back to her sisters when she could. She held up her fingers like a make believe camera, framing the perfect shot. She heard footsteps and the scent of pine needles, rain, and leather surrounded her. A warm feeling filled her and she tried to stay calm as the sound of his footsteps grew louder.

“Good shot.”

Jara peeked over her shoulder, lowering her hands. “You think?”

Soldier 76 stood next to her, looking out at the scenery as well. Jara wished he wasn’t wearing the visor. She was getting to like talking to him without it lately. After a few encounters in the kitchen at 2 in the morning, Jara had been able to have decent conversations with 76. She found herself sitting next to him in the mess hall many times, and she wasn’t afraid to ride next to him when they were being airlifted to a location anymore. 

She actually found out little things about him and he was asking her questions about Kenya. 

Her 20-year-old self would have been on cloud nine by now. 

36-year-old Jara had a little more composure. 

She pulled out the phone Winston gave her and she held it up. 

“Little to the left,” 76 suggested. 

Jara followed his suggestion and snapped the picture. She looked down at it and she smiled. It was gorgeous. “Since when are you a photographer?” she asked, tucking her phone back in her pocket. She would have to ask Athena to print it for her back at the base. 

76 cleared his throat. “I took photography in high school once upon a time.” He gestured to her pocket. “Why do you take all those pictures?”

Huntress bit her lip and she looked back out at Eichenwalde. The Overwatch crew was standing on a cliff a little outside of the town, investigating to see if there was a Talon base in the mountains. The rest of the group was sitting further down the trail, taking a needed rest. 

“My sisters are still back home. I send them pictures to let them know I am okay.” She let out a soft laugh. “I guess it’s my way of letting them see the world too. They have only been to the city near our village a couple times.”

“How old are they?” 

Jara had to stop herself from staring at 76 in bewilderment. Yes, they have been having more conversations like this, but she still had to compose herself every time. Maybe he was finally accepting her as a friend instead of just a teammate or subordinate. 

It’s a start, Jara told herself. 

She was happy he was talking to her like this at all. 

“Akinyi is 33 and Osogo is 30.”

He remained silent for many moments before he asked. “Are they the only family you have?”

Jara shrugged. “Well, they have husbands, but they never liked me,” she smirked up at him, “I think the fact I could hurt them if they made my sisters unhappy didn’t set things off on the good foot.”

“Right foot.”

“What?”

“That saying. It’s ‘off on the right foot’.”

Jara waved her hand. “Anyway, yes, they’re my only family aside from their children.” She dared to nudge his arm with her elbow. “What about you?”

76 remained silent, and Jara worried she overstepped a line she didn’t know about. 

The whispering sound of the wind blowing through the cedar trees around them was the only thing Jara let her ears hear and she basked in it. It was so peaceful and comforting in a way. 

“I have a sister. I haven’t talked to her in almost 10 years. I know I have some nieces and nephews too, but my work with Overwatch never let me visit them.”

Jara bit her lip and looked out at the village again. She knew suggesting he go visit them would be stupid. One doesn’t just show up on someone’s door like that. And the fact his actual identity was dead to the world. Suggesting to contact her sounded stupid too. 

Instead, she said something even stupider. 

“I should take you to see Kenya someday. Lake Victoria is beautiful in the spring, even though she’s dried up a little bit. The omnics have been great about keeping her clean.”

76 looked down at her and Jara had to force herself to look at the red line of his visor. She knew she would be seeing the line of it when she blinked for a few moments, but she endured. 

“What do your people call the lake?” he asked, nodding his head back toward the path. 

Jara checked the sun, almost sighing. It was almost time to move out again. “We call it Nam Lolwe.”

“Nam luluwe?” 

It took all of Jara’s willpower not to wince. 

“I said it wrong.”

A laugh escaped her lips. “It’s Lool-we. And the ‘a’ in Nam is a tall sound.”

“Nam Lolwe?”

Jara playfully pushed on his shoulder. “Good job, japwonjre.”

She could see his brow furrow so it was under his visor as he stared at her again. 

“That means student. Look how the tables have flipped.”

“Tables have turned.”

Jara’s laugh filled the trees.


	7. Luv List

Bryn was _pissed_. 

“When I find that maniacal Trash Rodent I’m gonna pull his bones out through his nostrils!” she snarled. 

She and Tracer had hidden in an old mining cave off of Route 66 and that damn Junkrat threw a few of his bombs toward them. Before Bryn could throw some of her own back, the entrance to the tunnel collapsed, and there was no way out. Overwatch was only here because the fuckin’ Aussie knew something important, and Winston and Morri—Soldier Fucking 76—decided they needed to find him. Bryn spent most of the mission covering Tracer’s ass and making sure Roadhog didn’t hook her. 

Damn her crush and damn her need to protect the Brit. 

A deep gasping sound had Mad Dog whipping around to see what _else_ was wrong, and her anger fizzled out when she saw the look of panic on Tracer’s face. Her chronal accelerator was blinking in and out and the agent was almost hyperventilating. 

“Bryn, we need to get back to Winston! If we don’t I-I’ll—” She gripped at her hair and her breathing got deeper and faster.

Bryn was there when all the Slipstream shite happened, it was a scary time for Overwatch. 

And Bryn didn’t like how the girl she had a crush on was suddenly slipping in and out of time. When Winston created his little gadget for the pilot, Bryn anonymously left an entire crate of peanut butter in his lab. 

Tracer was now almost shitting her pants because it may start happening again. Stepping closer, Bryn grabbed Tracer’s shoulders and gave her a firm shake. “Calm the fok down!”

The smaller woman’s face went blank for a moment before her bottom lip started trembling and she slowly sank to her knees. Bryn crouched next to her, not knowing what the hell to do. Bryn didn’t do emotions. 

“I don’t want to disappear again, Bryn.”

The usually cheerful, peppy woman was now almost broken and Bryn didn’t like that. That was what drew her to Tracer in the first place. She was just so…happy, and Bryn always soaked it up like a sponge. 

“Yer not gonna,” Bryn stated firmly, reaching into her trench coat. She always kept her tools on her for this reason. Shit always broke in the field and someone had to fix it. She pulled out her little pencil holder and set it to the side. “Alrigh’, do ya know where you were hit?”

Tracer sniffed, staring at Bryn with wide eyes. “How do you—“

“Did ya forget that I’m an engineer when I’m not blown’ shite up? Sides, I swiped one of Winston’s flashdrives ‘cause I was bored and I found the blueprints for this. And ya know how I am with me blueprints.” Bryn decided it was probably best to keep the fact she stole the blueprints because she wanted to know how to keep Tracer safe to herself. 

Lena was speechless and she just pointed to a part that was emitting more sparks than light. Bryn stiffened when Lena’s body started to fade and flicker in some places. “Bryn, please,” she whispered, looking terrified. 

Bryn helped the Brit shrug out of her bomber jacket and opened her tool kit. All of the tools were littler, due to the fact they had to fit in the pencil holder, but technology was wonderful. Bryn pressed a button on her screwdriver and it unfolded to become bigger. 

The engineer part of her mind took over as she worked, which helped because watching your crush fade in and out of time was slightly worrisome. The chronal accelerator was truly a work of engineering art and Bryn had to tip her hat to Winston for thinking of the damn thing. Bryn remembered studying the blueprints for hours, as if it would help her get closer to Tracer somehow. 

The Irishwoman knew she didn’t have a chance because she probably scared the shit out of Lena. And she was Irish. And she knew she would be a shite girlfriend. Bryn was fully convinced she was going to be a single shithead for the rest of her life. At least she can help when she could and watch from afar and take shit from Jesse. 

She turned on the flashlight mode on her goggles. 

A small giggle from Tracer made Bryn glance up at her. “What?”

“The light from your goggles, it just looks silly,” Lena answered shakily, smiling. 

Bryn could see that Tracer was trembling and still flickering in and out of time a little. “Focus on that then. Don’t look at yourself, and ‘stay calm and Tracer on’ or whatever the hell you say.”

“Aye aye,” Tracer replied, sounding more chipper. 

Bryn dug around in the front part of the chronal accelerator for about half an hour before she had Tracer turn around. She got to work on the back part, trying to ignore how Tracer kept looking at her over her shoulder. The pilot was sitting cross legged on the ground and Bryn had to move to her knees as she worked. 

“Wot?” she finally asked, glancing up as Tracer looked back at her again. 

“Thank you, Bryn,” Tracer said quietly. 

Bryn was quiet for a moment before clearing her throat and getting back to work. “Yer welcome.”

She finally stopped flickering and she was almost back to normal. Bryn screwed in another screw and the chronal accelerator flared back to life, it’s bright blue light filling up the mining tunnel. “About time the piece of shite,” Bryn grumbled, putting her tools away. 

She almost yelped when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her neck. “Really Bryn, thank you.”

Bryn hesitated, wondering if she should allow herself this moment. She finally gave in and hugged her back, feeling giddy. “Can’t have ya disappearin' on us, right?” she said, “Who would help me give Jesse shite?”

Tracer giggled and pulled away, beaming. Tears were forming in her eyes and she pushed up her goggles to wipe them on her sleeve. “Mogi would…but we’re better at it.”

“Damn right we are.”

Both women sat back against the wall of the cave, staring at the pile of rubble. 

“Why don’t you just blow that up, luv?”

Bryn almost shit herself. It was the first time Tracer had ever called her that little quirk of hers. Before it was always Bryn or Mad Dog. Now she was on the ‘Luv’ list. 

She had to stop herself from grinning stupidly. 

“Contrary to everyone’s belief, I ain’t that bomb happy,” she gestured to the pile of rocks, “I don’t wanna collapse the whole mine on us on accident.”

“Is your comm working, Luv? Mine got damaged.”

Bryn felt even more giddy. She was officially on the ‘Luv list’. She tapped at the comm device in her ear. “Morrison? Reinhardt? Can any of ya shites hear me?”

Thank Christ something was working. She immediately got a response from Reinhardt. 

“Don’t worry! I’ll have you out in no time!” he bellowed. 

Bryn sighed in relief. “Get yer arse over here ya crazy bastard.”

Reinhardt just laughed and the comm went silent. 

Her comm beeped again, on the private channel this time. “I thought you would wanna stay in there longer, Mad Dog,” Jesse drawled. Bryn could picture the shit eating grin on his face. 

“Eat shite, McCree.”

The boom of Reinhardt’s hammer against the rubble blocked out his reply. 

“Is that Reinhardt?” Tracer asked, blipping away from the entrance. 

Bryn got up and walked over to where Tracer was hiding in a safer area. “Yup.”

A tense silence fell over them for a moment and right as Reinhardt burst through the rubble, Tracer stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed Bryn on the cheek. “Thanks, Luv.”

She zipped out, doing the ‘ta-da!’ pose for the rest of the crew. 

Bryn was still standing in the mine like a fuckin’ idiot. 

She hoped McCree didn’t see the dopey grin on her face.


	8. Visor

“How does your visor work?”

Jack glanced over at Jara, who was in the stall next to him at the shooting range. They happened to go to the shooting range at the same time and Jack didn’t feel like leaving like he normally would have. “What?”

“Your visor. How is it special compared to others?” she asked, setting up for an almost impossible target on the other side of the range. 

Hell, she was quickly becoming his friend, he could throw her a bone. “It makes it easier to aim.”

Jara glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye before looking back at her scope. “Hm…that sounds handy.”

Jack rolled his eyes at the joking tone in her voice. That was another change he noticed lately. He wasn’t as irritated when she teased him compared to when the other’s did. Maybe because he absolutely knew she wasn’t doing it just to be a shithead. 

“Can I try?” she asked. 

She took her shot and hit it, with no surprise. 

Jack huffed. “You don’t need it. It’s for my shitty eyes.”

Jara stood up straight and gave him a deadpan look. “Your eyes are fine. Ana explained how your enhancements worked a long time ago.”

He could only manage a grunt, shooting at other targets. He glanced over at her when she moved to do the same and he felt his chest tighten a little at her tiny grin. She wasn’t even demanding to see it now, like he knew some others would. Jack sighed and unclipped just the visor, stepping closer to her. 

He stood behind her and he heard her short, surprised breath when he put it on her. 

“Whoa,” she breathed, reaching up and adjusting it. He didn’t know why, but he found it too attractive on her when she turned to look at him. “You really can see everything.”

She grabbed her shotgun and aimed at the targets ahead of her. Jack reached forward and pressed the button that activated the visor. A little jolt of electricity ran up his arm when his fingers brushed against her temple. “Go get ‘em.”

Jara was a good shot without the visor. She was impeccable with it. 

Soon, all of the practice bots were in pieces on the floor. 

Jara turned and pulled up the visor so it rested on top of her head. “That’s incredible!” she laughed with a beaming smile. 

A dimple showed up on her left cheek as she smiled and Jack felt like everything was frozen in time. She couldn’t be more than six inches away from him and he was hyperaware of everything. A stray curl escaped from under the visor and flopped on her forehead and her brown eyes were twinkling with mirth. He had to force himself to keep his eyes on her face.

He could faintly smell the soap she used and he knew he would have the citrusy scent stuck in his head for hours. 

Jack pulled himself together and plucked his visor from the top of her head. He had to resist the urge to wrap some of her curls around his fingers. “Good job,” he managed to say past the lump in his throat. 

“So this was your secret all along?” she teased, tilting her head slightly. 

Jack just grunted in response. 

They got back to their respective spots and continued practicing. 

“Jack, what was America like? For you, at least?”

Jack glanced at her, shrugging. “It was okay.”

Jara leaned against the wall of her stall. “But what was it like?”

Lowering his gun, Jack fully faced her. “Why do you want to know?” 

Jara started to play with her necklace, biting her lip. “I just…I have been telling you of my home. And all I hear from McCree is about the west and I’m curious. He said you were from…Midwest?”

Realizing that he was helpless and wasn’t going to get any more practice in, Jack put his rifle down. “I’m from the Midwest. It’s the middle part of the country.”

Jara shuffled closer to him, giving him an expectant look. God, Jack couldn’t remember the last time he thought something was adorable, but that was the only word he could think of to describe her at the moment. 

“I grew up on a farm in Indiana. I spent most of my time outside playing with the chickens and cows,” he started, removing his visor. 

“You lived on a farm?”

Jack almost laughed at the disbelief in her voice. “Yeah, I did.”

“What did it look like?” 

“Like a farm.”

She gave him a look. “What I think is a farm is probably different from what you think is a farm,” Jara quipped, grinning. 

“We had cornfields. A barn. A few cows. Chickens. The works,” Jack retorted, walking toward the door to the shooting range. 

Jara was right on his heels. “Was it warm?”

“Only in the summer. It got pretty cold in the winter.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I do not think I would like Indiana,” she stated. 

Jack hummed in response. 

Jara frowned at him. “Cold places are miserable.”

Jack snorted. “You don’t want to be in the northern part of America at all then.”

“Well, I probably wouldn’t mind visiting Indiana.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because that’s your home. It can’t be that bad.”

Jack halted in his tracks and looked down at her. Her soft grin has his heart pounding and he was thinking she was beautiful. Jesus, he was wanting to kiss her again. He gulped down the lump in his throat and he cleared his throat.

“Then we’ll have to go there sometime,” he finally said, opening the door for her. 

Her beaming smile was his answer.


	9. Repairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana gets some teasing in

Jack tried to help when he could. 

He didn’t really have time to do that back in the day when he was the Strike Commander, and it helped him keep his mind off of shit. Lately, though, the thing he was trying to keep his mind off of was slowly changing. 

Today, he was helping Hana make repairs to her mech and he knew he was starting to go bonkers. 

He gave the tiny Korean a boost so she could get on the top of it and he got to work on one of the arms. What was causing him to go bonkers was sitting on the other side of the hangar that was their impromptu workshop. 

Jaramogi was sitting with Tracer and Winston, watching her friends with a fond smile. She was sitting on a stool at the work bench, one leg swinging casually and she had her chin propped up in her hand. 

He quickly got back to work on the arm of the mech—which was catching, according to Hana—and he finally glared up at her when he felt her smug gaze stare at him for too long. 

“What?” he snapped. 

“You know what,” Hana retorted, grin growing wider. She laid down on top of her mech, resting her chin on her hands. She was starting to kick her feet. 

Jack grunted, not playing this game. He grabbed a power drill and got to work on taking off the armor plate of the mech. 

“I bet she would go on a date with you if you asked.”

Jack almost dropped the damn drill. “Get back to work,” he barked, glaring up at her. 

She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Okay Dad.” 

They managed to get about halfway through the repairs before Hana talked again. Jack was underneath the mech, holding a part in place while she went at it with tools. “Heck, you can even just take her to the shooting range. I’m sure she’d even go on a date to a dumpster with you.”

“Hana,” Jack growled warningly. 

“What?”

“Fix the damn oil leak already.”

Jack had thought his current annoyances were almost gone, but another one joined in. 

“Everything alright?”

The old soldier found himself tensing up at the sound of Jara’s voice. The lilt of her Kenyan accent did things he didn’t know it could do. 

Hana wiggled her eyebrows and scooted closer to him, which was almost impossible under the damn mech, and she whispered, “Now’s your chance! Ask her.”

“Ask me what?”

Jack sighed. “She has super hearing, rookie,” he grumbled, moving out from under the mech. 

The sight of Jara arching an amused brow with crossed arms greeted him when he was finally able to pull himself out. “Nothing,” he grunted, grabbing a rag to wipe the oil off his hands. He managed to get to his feet and he walked over to the toolbox. 

Jara’s hum of thought sounded disbelieving. 

Hana rolled out from under the mech too. “Come on Dad 76, I thought you were macho and not scared of anything.”

Jack glared at her. 

A cheeky grin was his only response. 

Funny, he had seen grown men almost piss themselves under the glare. 

Hana Song must have more balls than them. 

The teenager scurried away over to Tracer and Winston, flashing a shit eating grin his way as she did. 

“Dad 76?” Jara asked, stifling laughter. 

Jack grumbled, rolling his eyes. “She likes to call me that for some reason.” He forced himself to glance at her and his heart started to pound when she stepped closer to him. 

An affectionate smile came to her lips as she looked over at their teammates. “It’s because you watch over her in the field.” She gestured to the mech. “You protect people.”

Jack snorted, wiping off some sweat from his forehead. 

A stifled snort of laughter had him frowning at her. “What?” 

“It’s—Here, hold still.” She reached out for the rag he was holding and his whole body stiffened and his skin felt tight when she gently grabbed his chin and started to wipe at his forehead. “You have a big splotch of oil on your face.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled, trying to not focus on how his skin was almost buzzing where she was touching him. 

After what seemed like hours, yet he knew it was only a few moments, Jara pulled her hands away and set the rag on the workbench. “There,” she declared, looking up at him with her impossibly big, brown eyes and a soft smile. That damn dimple he liked so much appeared and he found himself staring.

He didn’t realize how close they were standing to each other until now, and his heart was starting to thud even more than it was. 

“Kiss her already!”

Both of them jumped and Jack sent a withering glare toward Hana. 

Jara just shook her head in amusement, rolling her eyes. “Very funny, Hana,” she laughed softly. 

Jack wanted to imagine how tight her voice sounded, like she was forcing the statement out. 

He decided not to look that much into it.


	10. Pinned

Watching Jack teach the newer recruits learn hand to hand combat brought many memories back to Jaramogi. 

She stood outside of the ring with McCree, watching Lucio, Hana, and Mei try their hardest against the old soldier and Genji. The cyborg had asked them to come and help with the training session, since their styles of combat was different from what he and Jack used. Angela sat nearby, just in case anyone got hurt. 

“Remember when he used to kick yer ass?” McCree chuckled, sticking a cigarillo in his mouth. 

Jara arched a brow at him, leaning on the ropes of the ring. “Remember when Reyes would kick yours?”

“Hey now.”

The problem was Jara could remember perfectly. And it wasn’t that she was bad at hand to hand combat. She was actually really good at it. Reyes had her join Blackwatch ops sometimes when they needed recon and he made sure she could keep up with them by having her fight with McCree. She won most of the time simply because she had trained longer than her friend did. 

It was the fact that it was Jack she was sparring against that always screwed with her. 

Young Jara had the biggest crush on her CO and it was a sad sight when he tried to help her. 

She remembered how her body used to feel like it was shocked whenever their skin touched and how her heart would race from something other than adrenaline when he was close to her. Jack always was handsome, there was a reason they stuck him on all the posters for Overwatch. 

Even now, he was handsome. Scars and all. 

Jara bit her lip as she watched him block punches from Hana. His back was to them and the way the t-shirt gripped his shoulders and arms was almost sinful. She allowed her eyes to drift lower for a moment before quickly looking toward Genji and Lucio. 

Hana had been embarrassing with her obvious hints to either her or Jack. The last thing she needed was the Korean noticing how she was getting an eyeful of him.

McCree gave her a light nudge with his elbow. “You should go in there and save her. Show them how it’s done.”

Jara snorted out a laugh. “Against him? Yeah right.”

“Darlin’, you can kick my ass easily. And I ain’t no pushover.” He nudged her again, chewing on his cigarillo. “Kick his ass like you did during the paintball match. I bet he’ll even like it.”

Looking up at him incredulously, Jara scoffed. “Excuse me?”

McCree held his cigar between his metal fingertips and spoke in almost a whisper. “Believe you me, us soldier men like it when a woman can kick our ass.” He nudged her again. “So kick his ass.”

Furrowing her brow, Jara considered his words. “You’re not pulling my foot?”

“It’s ‘pulling my leg’, darlin’. And I’m not shittin’ ya. Go, before Lena decides ta prank me fer not helpin’ ya.”

Jara finally made her decision when she saw Hana be thrown to the ground yet again. She grabbed the top rope and stepped in. “Hana, let me show you how it’s done,” she declared, rolling up the sleeves of her jacket. 

Jack whipped around, staring at her with wide, surprised eyes. 

Hana looked like she was about to implode she was so happy. “Really?! Alright!!!” she whooped. She looked over at where Genji and the others were still practicing. “Stop guys! Dad 76 and Jar are gonna fight it out!”

Genji looked over and tilted his head. Jara gave him a nod and he shrugged, ushering the others out of the ring. She knew he was recalling how her ass was kicked frequently. 

Jack stepped closer to her. “What made you want to do this?”

Jara shrugged. “I was tired of seeing Hana getting her butt kicked.”

“Hey!” the Korean whined. 

Jara got in a fighting stance, holding up her fists. “Let’s show them how it’s done. Just like the old days.”

Jack’s brow furrowed. “I recall you not winning much back in the day.”

“Maybe I got better. I won during the training match.”

And I can actually think when I’m around you now, she thought. Her brain would just freeze in the past.

“Suit yourself,” he growled, holding up his own fists. 

They circled each other, matching each other step for step. Finally, she attacked. They met each other blow for blow, but she could tell he was holding back his strength whenever she blocked his attacks. She leaned back out of the way of a hook and held up her fists again. 

This wouldn’t do. 

She picked up the speed, pulling back her own power to wait for the perfect moment. Unfortunately, he seemed to pick up on her plan. He pulled back and they both went back to circling each other. God, if she thought the shirt looked sinful from the back, the front was even worse. His breathing was a little heavier now and his intense stare was on her. 

Refusing to make the same mistakes she did in the past, Jara focused on her plan instead of him. 

Jack’s type of hand-to-hand always involved using his superior strength and speed to use the enemy’s own momentum against them. 

What was the saying? Fight fire with fire? 

Jara may not have had the strength he had, but she knew she was faster. And she knew how to handle opponents who were bigger than her. 

She surged forward and he was ready for her…almost. 

She feigned a punch to the left and she pivoted around him on the right when he moved to block it. He tried to turn and face her again, but she just moved before he could. She heard his breath hitch when she grabbed his wrist and twisted. She tugged forward with all of her strength, using that momentum to swing her legs up and around his neck. She twisted and she felt a rush of adrenaline when he slammed into the mat. 

She planted a knee in his back and held her hands in a finger gun to his neck. 

“Dead,” she growled, imitating his voice. 

He used to do the same crap to her when she got pinned. 

A heavy silence filled the room for a moment before McCree’s booming laughter filled the air. 

“Holy shit!” he guffawed, slapping his hat on his thigh. 

“Holy shit is right!” Hana squealed, clapping her hands. 

Everyone started to either cheer or laugh and Jack turned his head to look up at her. His expression seemed to say ‘really?’. 

Jara could only smirk. “Told you I got better, _Kamanda_.”

All she got was an eye roll. “Whatever. Let me up,” he growled. 

Jara finally stood and she held her hand out to him. He took it and she helped him up. Her heart started to thunder in her chest when he didn’t step away or let go of her hand. “Where was that 6 years ago?” he asked softly, staring at her. 

She gulped, trying not to focus on how their clasped hands were almost squished between their chests. 

Her brain started to short circuit and he only smirked at her before he let go. 

“Alright, you jokers. Take a break,” he barked, crossing his arms and giving the recruits a hard stare. Angela gave Jara a knowing look before walking away with Genji. Hana was still a giggling mess and Jesse looked downright smug. 

He wiggled his brows at Jara before sauntering away. 

Jack glanced back at her with a small grin. “Maybe you should help me train the recruits from now on. Your style of fighting is different from mine and Genji’s after all.”

Jara rubbed the back of her head with a small grin. “I would like that.”

God, she wished he would smile more. The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes crinkled more when he did that and she found herself loving the sight. 

He walked over to the edge of the ring and held up the top rope. “Ladies first.”

Jara stepped out of the ring and her heart didn’t stop thundering when he walked next to her out of the training room. 

She would have to thank Jesse later.


	11. Classics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracer finds out Bryn likes something unexpected

Tracer used to think that Bryn didn’t know anything outside of weapon engineering, cigarettes, and whiskey. 

Come to think of it, she realized she didn’t really know that much about the Irishwoman. 

It was only when she heard her arguing with Reinhardt about literature of all things did she discover something new about her friend. 

“Are ya stupid? Shakespeare’s love stories are the worst! And they're tragedies,” Bryn was saying, putting her feet up on the table she was sitting at in the mess hall. She was gnawing on her gum furiously. 

The German bellowed out a laugh. “Oh? Then why are they still known 500 years later?”

Tracer halted in her tracks on her way to the kitchen, almost not believing what she was hearing. She knew Reinhardt had a special love for the arts, specifically the classics, but Bryn? 

She had to hear the rest of this.

Bryn blew a bubble and popped her gum. “Aye, he might have been good, and he was able to get all the emotions and shite. The problem is people give his romances too much credit. And all the women are stupid shites.”

Reinhardt opened his mouth to argue, but Bryn wasn’t done. “Now, good stories are ones like _Frankenstein, Dracula_ , and _Jane Eyre_. Those are good.”

“But they weren’t written in iambic pentameter!” Reinhardt laughed, leaning back in his chair. He looked amused more than anything. Then again, very few people knew enough about classics to talk to him about it, so Tracer assumed he was just happy about it all.

“Ya don’ need that to write a good story! ‘Sides, I’d rather read _Frankenstein_ over _Romeo and Juliet_. No 13 year olds are gettin’ married in that one.” Bryn grinned, popping her bubble gum again. 

“Right you are, Mad Dog,” Reinhardt chuckled. “Now, why do you like _Jane Eyre_ too? That one is different from _Frankenstein_ and _Dracula.”_

Bryn popped her gum again. She must have been chewing it because Angela didn’t allow it inside the base. “Uh, yes it is. Just a bit diff’rent.”

Reinhardt hummed in thought, crossing his arms and arching an expectant brow. “Amuse me.”

Tracer knew about _Jane Eyre_. She remembered having to reading as an assignment once in school. Bryn read those for _**fun?**_

“Alright, ya got this girl who was treated like shite, was sent off to a shitty boarding school and she learned to be a teacher. Her first governess job was fer this rich arsehole that wasn’t even that good lookin’ and they fall in love and plan ta get hitched only to discover he was married to a mad woman he kept in the attic of his big mansion? That’s feked up.” Bryn brought her feet down so she could lean forward and point her finger in Reinhardt’s face. “And the best part is, she doesn’ put up with that bullshit. She leaves and tries to get on with her life.” 

Lena almost laughed aloud, zipping into the kitchen to get the granola bar she was after. She blipped out of the kitchen toward the entrance to the mess hall. She was pretty spot on with her description.

Reinhardt nodded, looking impressed. “I’m glad you like the classics, Bryn,” he commented. 

Bryn shrugged and leaned back in her chair again. “Gotta do somethin’ other than math sometimes.” She paused and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. “’Sides, me old dad had me read ‘em when I came to the workshop with him when I got bored. Jus’ never stopped.”

Tracer couldn’t help but smile at the look on Bryn’s face. For once, she wasn’t smirking or scowling, or laughing maniacally. It was just a simple, loving grin. 

Reinhardt’s smile fell into a serious look. “He would be proud of you, Bryn.”

Bryn let out a soft laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. “Ya really think so?”

“Of course.”

Tracer didn’t like how Bryn’s face fell, and she thought of the perfect solution, zipping out of the mess hall. She made it to town in no time at all, The best part about the London base was that it was close to the oldest part of London. And Tracer knew all the best shops. 

She zipped around until she found the perfect pick me up for her friend.

* * *

Bryn scratched her head in bewilderment as she stared down at her pillow. 

An actual BOOK sat on it. It was _Frankenstein_ and it looked older than dirt, but otherwise it was in perfect condition. Bryn knew it had to cost almost nothing, with how small it was and it being paperback and all. 

She picked it up and a small piece of paper fluttered out of the front and landed on her bed. 

Picking it up, she looked at it and every muscle in her body locked up when she realized just who gave it for her. 

_Enjoy Luv!!! Keep reading!_

_-Lena_

“Well I’ll be damned,” Bryn said to no one in particular.


	12. Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo joins the gang

Jara couldn’t remember the last time she was this exhausted.

Genji wanted help finding and recruiting his brother; so she, Soldier 76, McCree, Mercy, Mad Dog, and Winston went along with him. 

Talon had the same idea. 

The last three days were spent sneaking around Hanamura, avoiding both the cops and Talon agents as they tried to find Hanzo, which was next to impossible. 

The only reason they found him was because they found a blood spatter on the floor of a hotel room. 

“Shite, yer brother’s a bitch to find,” Bryn growled at Genji, fingers twitching toward her pocket. 

Jara knew her friend wanted to smoke. McCree was getting fidgety too. They were all getting worried for Genji. Genji usually showed no signs of worry or stress and was usually the one calming people down. Jara could tell he was getting more and more nervous the longer it took to find Hanzo. His mechanical parts were letting off steam every few minutes, when they usually only did that when he was fighting.

The metallic smell of blood filled her nose and she shook her head at the suddenness of it. She looked around the room toward the direction of the smell and she stepped closer to the window. “Jesse, move,” she said, gently pushing him aside. There was something almost familiar about the smell and she looked over at Genji. “Take your visor off,” she told him, breathing deeply. This wasn’t going to be the first time she tracked someone like this. 

Genji did as he was told and everyone waited as Jara closed her eyes and breathed in. 

“That’s his blood.”

Everyone either tensed up or relaxed. They had a way to track him now without having Winston and Bryn hacking into every system they could. 

The blood was worrisome. 

“Glad we have ourselves a human bloodhound,” McCree laughed, moving to light a cigar. 

Jara and Mercy glared at him. Jara, because if he lit that cigar it would cover up Hanzo’s scent; Mercy, because cigars are just bad for you. 

“McCree, for once, you need to shut your damn mouth. And don’t light that thing,” 76 pointed at Bryn. “And no cigs.” 

Bryn rolled her eyes. “I know she needs her nose you feckin’—“

76 cut her off by looking at Jara and asking, “Can you track him?”

“I suppose, since I’m a human bloodhound,” she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes at McCree. They may be close friends, but he had no filter between his brain and mouth sometimes. 

They finally found Hanzo at an ungodly time in the morning and the man was running away from Talon agents through the back alleyways of Hanamura. Jara stayed in the transport with Winston while 76, Mad Dog, McCree, and Genji leaped out to cover the elder Shimada brother. Mercy stayed with Jara until she was called for. Winston was the perfect pilot, getting in the perfect positions for Jara to get a good shot.

After the long, bloody fight in the alley was over, the Overwatch agents gave the Shimada brothers some space. 

Both Bryn and McCree were furiously smoking on their respective vices and watching Hanzo like a hawk. Jara faced away and kept her ears focused on them, just enough to be able to tell if something was wrong. 

76 was standing next to her facing the same way, relying on her ears. “Anything?”

“Get redemption?” Hanzo was snarling. “How can I fix what I did to you?!” He went off into a string of rushed Japanese and Jara decided to not listen anymore. 

“It’s starting to get personal. I’m not too worried after what I heard.”

76 stared at her for a moment before sighing and crossing his arms. “I’ll take your word for it.”

The others didn’t agree and was still watching the Shimada brothers. 

After what seemed like hours, Genji finally convinced Hanzo to join them. 

Jara decided that while she wasn’t too worried about Genji’s safety, she was going to keep an open ear for the elder Shimada for a while. She knew McCree was thinking along the same lines by how he was watching him from under the brim of his hat after sitting down. McCree was a member of Blackwatch for a reason. The man looked like he was asleep with his legs outstretched, arms crossed and his hat resting low on his face. Spying while in plain sight, he called it. 

Bryn moved up into the cockpit with Winston, probably for the better. She didn’t like the idea of Hanzo joining them at all, but she helped for Genji’s sake. 

Jaramogi arched a brow at 76 when he sagged down in the seat next to hers, buckling himself in as the carrier took off. 

“Angela look you over yet?” he asked, reaching up and taking the faceplate of his visor off. 

“Yes. You?”

He grunted, and Jara knew he didn’t. “You’re not invincible. Get a check-up when we get to the base,” Jara huffed, lightly punching his arm. 

Jack’s brows furrowed and he gave her a hard look. “Giving me orders?”

Jara gestured to his jacket. “I don’t see anything showing you’re a higher rank now. Besides, I thought that was a suggestion from a friend, not an order.”

“Friend,” he repeated, arching a brow. 

Jara looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up. She crossed her arms and tried to act nonchalant. “Yes. Friend.”

All she got was a low huff of laughter. They were sitting close enough that their shoulders were touching and she dared to lean against him. Her heart skipped a beat when he leaned toward her too. She rested her head on his shoulder, finally feeling the fatigue from the last three days wash over her. 

A small, barely audible chuckle sounded form McCree’s direction and she glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye. A small smirk was on the cowboy’s lips and she resisted the urge to kick him. 

Focusing in on Jack again, she realized a small weight was now resting against her head and her heart started to thud faster. She looked down at how his hand was near hers and she dared to intertwine her fingers with his. 

Surrounded by his comforting scent and warmth, she fell asleep.

* * *

Jack didn’t dare move. 

Jara had grabbed his hand and then he didn’t realize she was asleep until her breathing evened out. He couldn’t find it in his heart to pull his hand away in the first place. He was too damn tired to care and he welcomed the touch. He turned his head so his cheek was resting against the top of her head and the citrusy smell of her soap surrounded him. 

Her curly, black hair tickled his cheek and he held back a grin. The tension from his body slowly melted away and he felt his eyes drooping. He didn’t dare fall asleep, though. Not with Shimada on board. 

Jack knew a thing or two about forgiveness. He had to recently forgive Ana for hiding that she was alive, and he had to ask her for forgiveness as well. It was amazing that Genji was able to forgive his brother at all, considering that Jack had a similar experience with Reaper. 

But, just because Genji forgave Hanzo and vouched for him didn’t mean he earned trust. 

Shimada was seated on the other side of the carrier, tapping at a tablet and clearly avoiding looking at his brother, who was seated on Jack’s other side. Genji was sitting in the lotus position on the floor, meditating. “You do not need to watch him. I am more than capable,” Genji said softly, looking up at Jack. 

Jack huffed out a grunt. 

“I thought that would be your answer,” Genji replied, sounding amused. 

Angela stepped in from the cockpit and she sighed as she took a seat at the table in front of the seats. She pushed her fringe of hair back and she looked over at him. A fond grin came to her lips. “Good thing Hana and Lena aren’t here. They would be taking pictures,” she laughed, gesturing to him and Jara. 

Jack lifted his head and frowned at her. “She was tired.”

“Did her hand hurt too?” Angela teased, gesturing to their hands. 

Jack huffed and glared at her. “Why does everyone seem to give a shit about this?”

“Oh no, I’m not telling you,” Angela announced, crossing her arms. 

“Fer a smart guy, yer pretty clueless,” McCree suddenly chimed in, tipping his hat up slightly with a finger. 

“I must agree with Jesse on this,” Genji added. Somehow, the old soldier knew the cyborg was extremely amused now. 

“Young punks,” Jack growled. 

All he got in response was amused smiles and cheeky grins.


	13. Jack Daniels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little friendship/background oneshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Okay, I thought about the timeline and I changed Bryn's story a little based on it. Now she just doesn't like Talon in general. No revenge plot like I planned.

One of Bryn’s oldest and best friends was Jesse McCree…and it was for more reasons than the damn fact he was a good drinking partner. 

When Bryn was barely 14, an assassin infiltrated Overwatch and took away the most important thing in her life. 

Her dad. 

Two people got her through the roughest five years of her life after he was killed. 

Gabriel Reyes.

And Jesse fekin’ McCree. 

Bryn’s dad, Jonathan McFinnigan, was one of the top engineers at Overwatch and was behind many of the tactical visors and weapons of the time. Bryn was always by his side and helping him out and Winston even let her help with his experiments. 

Luck favored Bryn the day her dad died. She happened to be helping Winston with one of his experiments on the other side of the base when it happened. 

Bryn remembered just hiding in her room for about a week after that. She barely ate or drank and she spent most of the time staring at the wall, trying not to cry. Winston couldn’t get her to come out. Morrison tried his damnedest and Ana and who knows else tried too. 

That didn’t stop Gabriel Reyes. 

The man literally kicked her door down and dragged her out of her room by the collar of her shirt. He didn’t care about the stares of bewilderment he got, dragging a cursing Irish girl down the hall. 

She was dragged all the way to the practice range and he shoved a shotgun in her hands. “Shoot,” he growled, pointing to a practice bot. 

Now, Bryn knew her way around guns. She had been creating weapons with her father for a few years at that point. But she only had basic training and self-defense. She hadn’t considered joining any of the fighting squads at the time. 

“Why?”

“Just shoot the damn gun,” Reyes grumbled, rolling his eyes. “You’re useless sitting in your room all day. Might as well do something.”

Bryn held up the shot gun and he immediately stopped her before she could pull the trigger. “You’re going to dislocate your shoulder when it kicks back. Hold it like this.” He kept grumbling about engineers and she finally shot. 

Something came alive in her the moment the bot fell apart into pieces. 

All of her anger and frustration about everything that happened boiled to the surface and she shot again. And again. And again. 

She didn’t know how long she stood there, moving around the practice range and taking out as many bots as she could. 

Reyes had just let her do it, even when she had tears running down her cheeks and was choking back sobs. 

Her arm felt numb and full of lead when she finally ran out of ammo and she let the gun slip from her hands and she sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands. 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her finally and she leaned into the embrace, finally letting it all out. She felt embarrassed when the Captain of Blackwatch had to hand her tissues to clean up her face and stand. When she looked up at him, she didn’t see pity, but understanding. “Chiquita, would your dad want to see you hiding in your room?”

Bryn shook her head. 

Reyes heavily patted her arm. “Come back here at 0600 bright and early. We got work to do.”

Reyes taught her how to become the perfect soldier with a shotgun. Bryn then adjusted her glasses to give her 360 vision and she started to do things again. She was back in the workshop working on new gadgets, visors, and upgrades to weapons. She found herself starting to go on operations with Morrison and the others. Small operations, but operations nonetheless. She even found herself loving the soldier’s life more than she thought she would. As soon as she could she requested to join Blackwatch. Reyes had let her in with a ‘Don’t disappoint me Chiquita.’

After a couple missions, she earned the nickname Mad Dog and it stuck. 

Reyes was the tough love she needed when she needed it, and that didn’t stop for many years. 

Then, there was Jesse. 

He and Bryn got along right away. Sure, he had a shitty attitude and gave Reyes a hard time, but the Blackwatch Commander kicked that out of him pretty quickly. After a few months, he was soon joking around and acting like the rest of them. About six months after the asshole joined, he found her alone on the roof of the Gibraltar base with half a bottle of whiskey and deeply inhaling her cigarettes. He was out there himself so he could smoke. 

After a 10 minute conversation about how the cheap whiskey she had was shit, Bryn revealed that it was the anniversary of her dad’s death. 

Jesse had stared at her for many moments before taking a deep drag of his cigar and placing his hat beside him. “Shit, that’s rough.”

His heavy hand then rested on her shoulder and he patted it, almost like he didn’t know what to do. It was so awkward and unlike him—who was a little shit eating punk at the time—that Bryn couldn’t help but start laughing. 

“Yer shite at this,” Bryn snickered, flicking her cigarette butt off the edge of the base. 

McCree flicked off the butt of his cigar with a shrug. “Yeah, I am.”

“That’s okay, I’m shite at it to. Emotions are crap,” Bryn continued, holding out the whiskey bottle. 

McCree chuckled and took a swig of it. His face scrunched up and he gave it back. “We need to get ya some good ol’ Jack Daniels or somethin.”

“I’m holdin’ ya to that cowboy.”

They sat in a comfortable silence, smoking their respective vices. He spoke after a while. “So, yer dad was an engineer too?”

“Yep. One of the best.”

“Cool.”

Both 17 year olds stared up at the sky and Bryn appreciated how he didn’t really ask anything else. 

While he was shit at comforting people, he understood when not to talk about it. 

“I bet I could hit that ol’ birds nest over there,” he said, pointing toward a tree on the other side of the base. 

“Alright, I bet ya can’t.”

“You gotta get me some Jack Daniels if I do,” McCree replied with a smirk. 

“Yer on ya feckin’ gobshite.”

Bryn was never so angry walking into the liquor store.


	14. Righting Wrongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some backstory on Jaramogi now

Jaramogi will never forget the day she was invited to join Overwatch. 

She was 20 years old—a new escapee from the organization that used her—and she was hunting for dinner. 

She had heard of Overwatch when she was in the APC. 

The “African Peace Cadets” wasn’t all it was made out to be. Jara remembered standing in the market of the city near her village, looking up at the flyer for it. Her 14 year old self got caught up in the grandiosity of it all, not thinking twice when she put in an application. 

She went home and told her two little sisters what she did. 

Being orphans in rural Kenya wasn’t too bad. Their grandmother took care of them until she passed, and the village helped where they could. But Jara hated it. She hated feeling indebted to the people she grew up next to. So she started to hunt. She always was taller and stronger than the other girls. And none of the boys have given any interest in marrying her—and why would they? She was poor and couldn’t offer them anything—so she took things into her own hands. 

She envied her sisters most days. After school, they just went back to the house their parents had owned and did chores. Jara had to make sure they were fed. 

So when she saw the flyer saying she would be paid to be a good shot, she took the chance. 

20-year-old Jara wanted to slap 14-year-old Jara. 

Jaramogi at 14 years old didn’t know how peaceful her life was.

She didn’t know how lucky she was to have her sisters.

She didn’t _know._

And that was what saddened Jara the most. 

She didn’t know what she was getting into. 

She didn’t know how horrible being a soldier was. 

And most importantly, she didn’t know what was happening outside of Kenya. 

In the rural Luo village, she didn’t hear about the things happening in the other countries. She didn’t hear about other continents. She heard of the omnics, but the Kenyans loved the omnics. The omnics helped keep their national parks and lakes clean and maintained. 

_Nam Lulwe_ never looked so good. 

So when she saw the APC wanted to make things peaceful like Kenya, she joined. 

She didn’t know making things peaceful would mean hurting others. She knew she would have to fight, but hurt innocent villagers?

Jara shuddered at the memory, sneaking through the brush. She took a deep breath, easily finding the warthog’s scent in the air. 

The APC gifted her with her new senses, putting microscopic biotic implants in her brain, eyes, ears, and nose. 

Jara loved them at first, but over time, she realized why they really gave them to her. 

She was a hunter. 

And for the longest time, she was the APC’s best hunter. 

It was only when the APC came up against Overwatch did she realize something was wrong. 

Before, she and her squad were sent to different parts of the continent and they fought in the wars in other countries. 

It was when she was in Egypt did she realize she was on the wrong side.

When she saw the sniper’s laser on her chest, she realized just who had their sights on her. 

Jaramogi knew about Overwatch, and she knew they were the good guys. 

To see the famous Ana with her enhanced eyes and to know that woman never missed made her very frightened. 

She remembered closing her eyes and praying that God would forgive her. 

The shot never came. 

Ana was gone and Jara found herself the lone survivor of her squad. The rest were taken out by Overwatch. 

The APC picked her up and Jara saw everything with new eyes. She saw the smuggled weapons. She saw normal villagers among the ‘prisoners of war’. 

So, on their next mission, Jara only packed what she needed, and she ran when they dropped. 

She threw her comm into the bushes, never looking back. 

She ran to the nearest city and managed to get on a bus out of the country. 

The whole way home, she was dodging APC agents. The enhanced senses they gave her helped her escape from them multiple times.

Jara only felt more angry and sick as she went. When she sat at a bus stop one day, she realized just what she escaped. 

In the APC, it was almost as if they were all isolated from the world. She didn’t know how the world saw them. 

Now she knew. 

_They_ were the terrorists. 

Jara wished she could rip out the implants in her head, but she couldn’t. 

At the bus stop, she saw the news playing on a television in a shop nearby. It showed a platoon of APC soldiers and there was a warning to everyone out there to stay away from them. 

Eventually she made it back to Kenya, and the money she earned with the APC got her sisters good husbands, so Jara didn’t have to worry about providing for them any longer. 

She was like a dead leaf, blowing in the wind and with nowhere to go. 

Jara knew she couldn’t stay in Kenya long. She didn’t want the APC following her here and hurting her people or her family. 

That was when Ana found her. 

Jara was still on the trail of the warthog, and she finally found him next to a small pond. Using the skills her father taught her when she was really small, she crept through the grass. She stopped and set up for the shot. 

The warthog was in her sights. She took a deep breath and got ready to pull the trigger.

She stiffened and her breath caught in her throat when she saw the red dot of a laser that wasn’t hers on the warthog. The dot moved over the ground and eventually crept up onto Jara. 

Shit. 

At first she thought it was APC, and she just accepted her fate, closing her eyes and sending a small prayer up to God. 

Again, the shot never rang out. 

“Put down your gun,” a low, feminine voice ordered. 

The warthog jerked at the sound of the voice and it sprinted away. 

Jara set down her rifle, standing from her hiding spot. 

Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw another woman stand from her own hiding spot in the grass. 

Her long, dark hair was streaked with grey and Jara recognized her immediately. 

Ana Amari didn’t joke around and she cut straight to the chase. 

“So tell me, why is a terrorist sniper hiding in Kenya?” she asked, walking through the brush towards Jara. 

Jara swallowed the lump in her throat and she felt tears prick in her eyes. 

The smell of sandalwood and ink filled her head and Jara focused completely on Ana. 

Ana stopped at least 3 meters from her, pointing her rifle at the ground. 

“Because she realized she was the terrorist,” Jara managed to choke out, holding her head up proudly. If she was going to die here, she wasn’t going to die crying. She would die knowing her sins. 

Ana hummed in thought, tilting her head slightly. Jara wished she could tell what she was thinking, but the woman was unreadable. 

“So you didn’t know what you were getting into?” Ana took a couple steps closer to Jara. “Let me guess, you were a young, idealistic kid who wanted to make a difference. You joined the APC hoping you could leave your mark on the world.”

Jara was suddenly angry. How dare this woman think she knew everything. “I joined so I could get my sisters proper education and keep them fed.” She glared at her, balling her hands into fists. “I went through years of training, had experiments done on me, and was called a dirty bush girl the whole time so my sisters wouldn’t starve. Don’t you dare talk to me like you know me.”

All of the emotions she had tucked in the back of her head reared their ugly head. Jara’s eyes squeezed shut and she took a deep breath. “So if you’re going to kill me, just do it. I deserve it!”

“Why do you deserve it?” 

Jara opened her eyes and stared at Ana in complete shock. “I hurt so many people and—“

“So what? It’s a part of war.”

“Innocent people! I always felt wrong when we were dropped off near a village or a small city and I—“ Jara’s throat closed up again and she looked away. “Why are you here?”

“I saw what you could do. And I found your file in the latest APC base we took down. When we saw you went AWOL, the Strike-Commander and I made a decision.”

Ana took another step toward her, only putting a meter in-between them now. 

“And your answer just now showed we were right in our decision. You know about the little people in the world. You know what it’s like to be wronged by the very people we are stopping. And that is why we want you to join Overwatch.”

Jara’s head whipped up quickly and her jaw dropped. “What?” she barely managed to whisper. 

“I want you to join one of the top units in Overwatch. We do not have enough snipers, and you would be an essential addition to our team.”

Jara wasn’t buying it. It shouldn’t be that easy. “No.”

One of Ana’s thin brows rose. “No?”

“No. I will not be tricked again.”

Ana tapped Jara’s rifle with her foot. “I’m giving you a chance to right the wrongs you believe you have done. In all honesty, you were tricked. What happened does not make you a bad person.”

She turned away from Jara and started to walk through the brush. “I will return in exactly 24 hours. Give me your answer then.”

Jara remembered wandering the forest for the rest of the day and her sisters were worried sick when she finally returned home. 

She remembered looking in the dirty glass of her mirror and despising the person that looked back at her. 

_What happened does not make you a bad person._

Those words rang in her head. They rang loud and clear through the memories of all the lives she had claimed. They rang true when she thought about how she and almost every soldier was used.

And Overwatch was working to uproot APC. 

Overwatch didn’t care if she was from rural Kenya. 

Women like Ana Amari were leaders in this organization. 

And Jara knew what her answer was going to be. 

The next day, she kissed her sisters goodbye and explained why she was leaving, and she went back to the pond. 

She crept through the brush with only her rifle and the pack on her back. She smelled sandalwood right away and she found Amari sitting outside of her tent, cleaning her own rifle. 

She turned on her rifle’s laser, and pointed it at the woman. 

Ana didn’t even look up and she smirked. “About time you showed up.”

And since then, Jara _knew_ she was a part of something good.


	15. Birthmark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why did Bryn ask 76 about her birthmark a while back?

Bryn always respected Morrison and Reyes.

Yes, she gave them shit, but she respected them. 

She was forced to contemplate about this because Lena was asking how in the feck Morrison knew about her birthmark. She wasn’t the only one asking either. Angela, Fareeha, Mei, Lucio, Hana, and Jaramogi were also sitting at their table in the mess hall. 

Lena was sitting on one side and Jara was on the other and McCree was giving her a smug look from across the table. Only he knew how Morrison knew, and while it wasn’t embarrassing, it was stupid. 

“I mean, how would he know about it? Did you tell him when you were younger or—“ 

Bryn held up her hand, cutting the Brit off. Tracer arched an expectant brow. 

“I was wondering about that,” Jara admitted. 

Bryn flashed her a shit eating grin. “Why? Cause he won’t look fer yours?” 

Jara—the ever calm, almost unfazable Jara—just arched a brow. Damn, Bryn was going to embarrass her about her stupid crush on the old bastard someday. Today apparently wasn’t it. 

“But really? How did Dad 76 know about your birthmark on your butt?” Hana cut in, pointing a demanding finger. 

It still cracked Bryn’s shit up that most of the younger recruits were calling the old man that. Then again, he was really protective, and he was someone to look up to. As stated before, Bryn gave him shit but she respected the hell out of him. He saw more shit than most of them combined and he still came out on top usually. 

“Once upon a time, when 18 year old McCree and Mad Dog were young and stupid, they decided to get drunker than donkeys on New Years Eve.”

“Shit, why ya gotta tell about me too?” McCree groaned. 

Bryn pointed her fork at him, “Cuz ya convinced me ta get the strong stuff, ya little shit.” She stabbed her fork into her casserole. 

“Anyway, you were drunk?” Hana asked, leaning forward in her seat. Lucio was leaning right along with her.

“Well, McCree and I were under the table at some point and Reyes dragged ‘im back ta his room and Morrison started to drag me back ta mine.” She paused for dramatic effect, seeing the amused faces around her. It was funny, usually she didn’t like being the center of attention but this was fun. Besides, she got to embarrass McCree too. 

“Now, we all know Morrison is the best jackboot fer shite. He ain’t surprised by nothin’ and never bats an eyelash when anythin’ comes his way. Well, me drunk arse wanted to find out if he would react to _anything_.” 

Everyone started to see where this was going. “Oh no,” Fareeha said. 

“Yep. I pulled me britches down and mooned the bastard.”

The whole table erupted into laughter. Lena was giggling uncontrollably and slapping the table. Jara was hiding her laughs behind her hand, Fareeha just rolled her eyes with a big smile and Angela was full out laughing. 

“What did he do?” Hana managed to ask. 

“Just scowled and told me to get me damn pants back up and kept walkin’.” Bryn took a bite of her casserole with a smirk. “I knew he saw me birthmark though. And he’s the only bastard I’ve mooned.”

“Is it really a dog?” Hana asked. 

McCree almost leaped over everyone to try to cover her mouth. “Don’t ask that!” he barked. 

“Sure,” Bryn stood up, moving toward the belt of her pants. “Wanna see?”

Everyone at the table shouted in protest. “NO!”

Bryn couldn’t help but cackle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I getting the Irish accent in there? meh, i'll keep trying


	16. Breakfast

Jara usually ate breakfast alone, since all of her friends either rose earlier than her or closer to around noon. 

She was a 6 am riser herself. Always had been. Her mama used to call her a sun child, because she would rise with the sun and fall asleep with it. 

Jara sat in the mess hall, scrolling through a report Winston sent her about some enemy snipers that were seen in Europe. Her small bowl of oatmeal with blueberries in it sat next to her and she would occasionally take a bite. She took a sip of her coffee and she scrunched her nose. It got cold. 

“Need a new cup?”

She looked up in surprise to see Jack standing next to the table. “You don’t have to I—“

Jack swiped it up and was moving toward the kitchen before she could say anything else. She watched him curiously as he made himself breakfast, filled up two mugs and walked back over to her. He sat down next to her, sliding the full mug of warm coffee towards her before taking a drink of his. 

Jaramogi couldn’t help but grin as she took a sip of her own. 

They stayed in a comfortable silence, just enjoying their breakfast and she couldn’t help but feel giddy when he didn’t move away when their arms brushed occasionally. 

This became a normal part of Jara’s routine. 

She would get up at 6. Make herself breakfast, and then Jack would join her. 

Sometimes, her bowl of oatmeal and blueberries was already waiting for her at the table with him next to it. 

His breakfast was just as simple as hers. Usually he only had toast and some fruit or something along those lines. What she enjoyed was that they could just sit and be silent. She never felt like she had to talk or start conversation. It was time they had to themselves before everything else. 

And when they did talk, it surprisingly had nothing to do with their upcoming missions or their training. 

“I still don’t get how you and the cowboy are good friends,” Jack grumbled one day, biting into an apple. “You and Lena, I get.” 

Jara shrugged. “Sometimes I don’t get it either.”

A small grin—which was becoming a more common sight for Jara—showed up. “How did that shit even happen?”

“You don’t know? It’s one of the things Ana and Captain Reyes always talked about,” Jara snickered. 

His face fell momentarily and he shook his head before the grin came back. “I’ve heard about how you guys met, but nothing beyond that.”

“You mean how I kicked his ass in a simulator?”

Jack’s grin grew. “Wish I could’ve seen that.”

Jara stirred her oatmeal, smiling at the memory. “Anyway, it was sort of a rivalry turned into a friendship. Captain Reyes and Ana would pit us against each other just for entertainment.”

Jack snorted into his coffee. “Must have been during your orientation.”

A snicker escaped from her. “He was such a little shit.”

Jack arched a brow. “You mean he isn’t now?”

Jara gently shoved his shoulder. “Be nice!”

“Never.”

They fell back into a comfortable silence and she hummed a little when she ate the last blueberry from her spoon. She heard a slight hitch in Jack’s breathing and she glanced at him, spoon still in her mouth. Jack quickly looked away and he took a long drink of his coffee. 

She noticed he had been staring at her and then looking away immediately. Maybe it was time to address that somehow. 

Scooting closer, she made it to where they were shoulder to shoulder. She looked up at him, waiting for him to look at her again. “See something interesting?” she asked cheekily. 

He finally looked at her again. “Always,” he answered, sounding a little hoarse. 

Jara had to give it to herself, she recovered quickly. She beamed up at him and gave him a peck on his cheek. 

She heard his heart start to race and she moved and got their dishes before he could say anything. She flashed a teasing smile over her shoulder as she walked away, feeling satisfied with herself. 

For once, she wasn’t the one that was flustered.


	17. Vacation

The fact Winston tricked them all pissed Jack off for many reasons. 

They were _supposed_ to be finding the nearby Talon base in Athens; but no, they dropped off at Ilios and there wasn’t a Talon agent in sight. The fact all of the agents were there should have clued Jack in. 

And that was how he found himself in a random hotel room, refusing to go out and have a ‘weekend off’ with the rest of the group. 

That is, he thought he was going to. 

Tracer, Angela, and Ana ended that idea _extremely_ quick. 

All three women bullied him into wearing a navy blue shirt and jeans and were pulling him out of his room before he had time to protest. 

Angela and Ana, he expected to be pushy, Lena was a surprise. 

Soon, he found himself grumbling to himself as he walked down the street with Ana and the others. They said they were going toward one of the tourist sites whether he liked it or not. Jack couldn’t help but be on edge. While he knew very few would recognize him without the visor, he was still an internationally wanted criminal. 

“So why did you really make me do this?” he growled. Ana was still beside him. Angela was walking ahead of them with Fareeha, who joined them when they left the hotel, and Lena was zipping ahead of them all. 

“I know you don’t like being out and about,” Ana placed a gentle hand on his arm, just like she used to when they were the Strike Commander and the Captain. “But you really need to spend time with the rest of the team. Even you know this will be good for morale.”

A wry grin came to her lips. “Besides, there was something I wanted to show you.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Ana, I’ve been here plenty of times. I’ve seen the ruins be—“ he trailed off when he looked ahead to see who else was at the ruins. 

Jaramogi was standing there with Hana, taking a picture of the girl in front of one of the pillars. She was wearing a simple, white sundress and she was…his damn mind couldn’t come up with anything. 

“—fore…” he finished. 

“I never said I wanted to show you ruins,” Ana teased, giving him a good natured grin. 

The skirt of the dress started to billow around her knees and Jack was lost when she smiled at Tracer and the others when they showed up. 

_Beautiful_ , he finally thought, taking in how the dress contrasted with her dark skin.

A bitter feeling settled deep in his gut as he watched her. She deserved better than an old, grumpy soldier like him. He didn’t deserve her at all, not with his past and the things he done. He shouldn’t even be having these thoughts about her at all. After Switzerland, he realized just how **blind** he was when he was Strike Commander. How he didn’t see the blatant privilege he had when he was appointed as Strike Commander instead of Reyes, even when they both agreed that the man deserved it more than Jack did.

He didn’t realize how the overlook hurt his friend and that caused everything to fall apart. 

Jara should want nothing to do with him for those reasons alone. 

“Why would she want to spend time with me?” he growled, turning to walk away. 

Ana gently grabbed his arm before he could start going back the way he came. “Jack, you know the answer to that.” She looked him right in the eye. “And for once in your life, don’t be afraid to be happy.” She tugged on his arm and gave him a gentle push. “Now go talk to her.”

“No.”

“What’s so different about now? I know you spend time with her at the base,” Ana huffed, giving him an unamused frown. 

Jack scowled at her and started to walk away. Her exasperated sigh followed him. “At least spend the day with us. You can’t spend it all in that dingy hotel room,” she insisted, “Hana likes you for some reason. And so do the others. And how long has it been since Reinhardt and Torbjorn bought us drinks?” 

With a heavy sigh, Jack silently relented, crossing his arms and standing next to her, watching the younger members chatter amongst themselves. 

“Don’t lead her on, Jack, if you’re determined to be this way.”

While Ana said it softly, Jack could hear the threat behind her words. Jara was her student primarily, after all. It was only natural she was protective. And she was right, Jack wasn’t good for Jaramogi so he should distance himself while he could. It was better for her in the end. 

It was a good idea, until she looked over at him. His breath caught in his throat when she smiled at him before turning her attention back to Hana. 

“I swear I found your copy on the internet the other day! You look just like her,” Hana was saying, furiously swiping at her phone. 

“Who is this?” Jara asked, putting a hand on her hip, looking amused. 

Bryn, McCree, Genji, and Zenyatta ended up joining the group, all of them looking over Hana’s shoulders to see this picture. 

Ana and Jack watched from the sidelines. 

“Her name is Lupita something or another. She won a bunch of acting awards 50 years ago.”

“And why were you looking for this?” Fareeha asked, not sounding amused. 

“Because _I’m_ an actress, duh! I was looking up other famous actresses and her name popped up almost immediately! Aha! Here she is!”

Hana proudly showed Jara the picture and Jara took the phone, studying it carefully. Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Wow, I do look like her. Hey, it says she one of the Luo people,” Jara announced, smiling. 

Everyone else crowded to see, agreeing with her. 

“Here,” Ana said, holding out her phone for Jack. 

Jack glanced at it and did a double take. Sure enough, Jara looked similar to the woman in the picture. “Damn,” he muttered. 

“Who do I look like?!” Bryn suddenly demanded, giving Hana an expectant look. 

Hana studied her for many moments before quickly typing on her phone. 

“Here,” she held out her phone to McFinnigan, “this is you as a blonde.” 

Bryn turned the phone in multiple angles before finally nodding in agreement. “Kate McKinnon huh?”

“Shit, maybe ya should dye yer hair Mad Dog,” McCree snickered. 

Bryn playfully punched him in the arm. “I’ll do that when ya shave that monstrosity of yer damn face.”

“Damn,” McCree grumbled. 

Jack watched them all interact with each other and a tight feeling settled in his chest. It reminded him of the old days. It reminded him of the nights out he had with Reyes, Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjorn, and many others. 

The rest of the day was spent making sure everyone stayed out of trouble. Jack felt more like a chaperone than anything. It was nice to just spend time with Ana, though. And it got better when Reinhardt and Torbjorn joined. 

Hanzo even joined, usually staying out of the crowd with his brother. It was the first time Jack saw them even near each other since Hanamura. 

Soon, the whole group was out on the beach at Ilios, sharing a picnic Angela and Lucio packed and enjoying the weather. 

Jack’s luck finally ran out when the sun was starting to set. He had sat in the sand, watching he sun slowly start turning the water into brilliant oranges and reds when Jara sat beside him. She held up her phone, giving him an expectant look. “Good shot?”

Jack glanced at the screen, giving a small nod. 

She took the picture then started to admire it. “Akinyi will really like this one,” she stated, tucking her phone in the pocket of her dress. 

Another nod. 

Jara arched a brow. “Are you alright?” 

Nod. 

She shrugged a little, straightening out the skirt of her dress and looking out at the water too. 

Dammit, Jack used to be proud of the discipline and the focus he had. Both were starting to crumble around her. His focus was on how close she was sitting to him, or how smooth her skin looked, or how the faint smell of citrus would invade his senses when the breeze picked up. 

Should he take Ana’s advice? Should he let himself pursue something like this, despite all that he had done? 

Or should he take Ana’s other piece of advice and tell Jara that he wasn’t interested point blank? 

His throat tightened up at the second thought. 

Shit, he would be lying if he told her that and he knew she would be able to tell. But what did she see in him? Surely she understood what happened when he became Strike Commander? Surely she saw how Reyes was wronged? 

And if she did, why did she still look his way?

“Jack,” her gentle, low voice pulled him from his thoughts. 

He looked over at her. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, leaning against him slightly. 

Never one to avoid too many problems, Jack finally got it out. “Why me?”

“Hm?”

“Why me?” he repeated, finally looking her in the eye. “I’ve done a lot of shit in my past, and some of it was to my closest friends. You shouldn’t even want to be around me. None of you should.” His throat closed up and he looked away from her, resting his elbows on his knees. Well, he got it out, hopefully she’ll give him an answer he can accept.

She could feel her stare and his heart started to slowly pick up its pace. Before he could tell her to forget it, she moved. Gently, she reached up and rested her hand on his cheek and made him look at her, Jack tensed at the touch. He could feel the slight callouses on her fingertips from handling guns, but otherwise, her skin was soft. 

“Why you?” she asked, turning so she was facing toward him more. “Because despite that what you said was true, I see a man who was kind and gave me a chance to right my own wrongs when _I_ thought I didn’t deserve them.” 

She raised her other hand, cupping his face in her hands. “And you never looked down on me and I could see you were a good man, because I’ve been around bad people, Jack,” she leaned forward so he was forced to look at her, “I’ve been around _**so**_ many bad people and I know what they look like. You don’t fit the dollar.”

Jack huffed out a laugh past the lump in his throat. “It’s ‘fit the bill’.” 

She smirked. 

He scowled. “You’re doing that shit on purpose, aren’t you?”

She laughed and let go of him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

They sat in a heavy silence, just looking at each other.

Her words kept ringing in his ears. Did she really think that? Or was she just trying to comfort him?

“You don’t really mean that.”

“I do. You’re a good man, whether you believe it or not. And you’re doing what I did so many years ago. I know how you feel.” She looked out at the sea again. “When I first joined Overwatch, I thought I wasn’t worth anyone’s time because I was trained by the APC. I helped them do bad things and I didn’t feel like I belonged amongst all you heroes.” 

Jack didn’t know what to say. He never got the impression she felt that way back in the day. 

“But Ana was a great help…and so were you. And that, Jack Morrison,” she looked at him again, brown eyes twinkling, “is why I pester you now.” 

Jack gulped down the lump in his throat, not knowing what to say. He didn’t know he had that big of an impact on her when he was her CO. 

“I wouldn’t call it pestering,” he finally managed to say, giving her a small grin. 

“Good, because it’s going to keep happening,” she gave him a serious look, “Unless you don’t want it to.”

He could hear the question behind the words. And for the first time since seeing her today, he had his answer. 

“Pester away,” he replied. 

This time, she smiled wide enough for that dimple to show up, and for once, he didn’t feel embarrassed or guilty when she leaned against him as they watched the sun finally dip below the horizon. 

For once, he felt good.

He wasn’t so mad at Winston for planning this vacation now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now you know my OCs face claims. 
> 
> Jaramogi's is Lupita Nyong'o
> 
> Bryn is Kate McKinnon 
> 
> I'm also on the 'Gabriel Reyes deserved better than this' squad.


	18. Grade A Bitch Face

Bryn didn’t know what her best friend saw in Shimada. 

“Ya do realize he tried to kill Genji right?” Bryn grumbled, taking a deep drag of her cigarette. She and McCree went to the entrance of the training hanger so they could have a smoke break. They were watching the older Shimada actually conversing and training with others for once. The fekin’ gobshite just came here and trained on his own at ungodly hours in the morning usually. Bryn had been keeping tabs on him with Athena’s help. 

Genji was a grump back in the day, but he was a fellow grump at the time and Bryn liked him. She still did, even though he mellowed out immensely. He seemed happier now and that was enough for her. 

And…she was there when they found him in Hanamura. Blackwatch had been there to try to see if they could take down some of the gangs there. Thank Christ the main Overwatch team was right behind them and they were able to get him to Angela in time. 

Shimada was showing Hana how to use a bow—not his feckin own because he almost bit someone’s head off when they tried to touch it once—but with one of the spare ones in the weapon room.

They were conversing in Korean—how Shimada knew 10 different languages, Bryn didn’t know but she hated it—and was showing the girl how to properly stand. 

“I do, an’ Genji vouches fer him. ‘Sides, he hasn’t done anythin’ suspicious since he got here.” McCree took a deep drag of his cigar. 

Bryn rolls her eyes, rolling the cigarette to the other side of her mouth. “It’s the feckin’ tattoo, isn’t it? Ye always liked tattoos.”

McCree rolled his eyes. “He really ain’t that bad, Mad Dog.”

Bryn snorted, flicking her cigarette butt on the ground. “Ya weren’t there when we found Genji, cowboy. Not somethin’ I’m quick to rememberin.” 

McCree took one last drag of his cigar before flicking it on the ground next to her cigarette. “I know a thing or two about tryin’ to fix things.” He gave her a sour look. “Deadlock, remember? He’s tryin.”

Bryn pointed a finger in his face. “Tell me the number of times he’s even talked to Genji since he came here.”

McCree scowled at her.

Deciding to drop it, the Irish woman rolled her eyes. “I forget ye like the bitchy type.” She took another look over at Shimada and Hana, letting out a deep sigh. Hanzo was standing behind Hana pulling her shoulder’s back into the proper position as she held the bow. Strangely, it almost reminded her of when Reyes did the same with her once upon a time with two sawed off shot guns. 

“What’s wrong, Mad Dog?”

Bryn looked back at Jesse, almost rolling her eyes. Shit, she was going soft if her expressions were getting that easy to see. “Just thinkin’ ‘bout when Reyes did the same shit with us. Takin’ us rascals under his wing and all.”

Jesse’s face fell a little and he rubbed at his neck. “Bryn,” 

“I know he was a big dick at the end of everythin’…doesn’t mean I don’t miss ‘im. The old him.”

A heavy arm fell over her shoulders, pulling her to his side. “I miss the ol’ days too…’fore he became a rat bastard and all.”

Bryn rolled her eyes. “He had a right ta be pissed! The UN feckin’ overlooked him fer all the wrong reasons and ya know it.”

“Ya think I don’ know all ‘bout that, Brynnie? At least my Pa was white as they can be.” 

Bryn grumbled, remembering why she didn’t think about the past anymore. Everyone knew Reyes should have got the leading position in Overwatch, but it was passed to Morrison instead. While Morrison was second in line, it should have gone to Reyes. 

Bryn knew the real reason. Morrison looked the part. 

Pissed her off to no end when Reyes didn’t get the credit he deserved, but that comes with leading a secret black ops group. 

Reyes had told her about what growing up in California was like, being half African American and half Hispanic was never easy. Even with the Omnics and all the other shite, Americans were racist. 

And to top it all off, she couldn’t hate Morrison for it. He knew what was going on too.

And then there was the extreme likelihood of Overwatch being torn apart from the inside. Reyes’ change was gradual, but Bryn couldn’t help but question it. 

“It was just all a load of donkey shit…and I miss when he used to ‘ave fun with all o’ us.”

McCree chuckled, tipping his hat up. “Remember the air hockey tournaments?” 

“Or the karaoke battles?” 

McCree threw back his head with bark of laughter. “That man had pipes!”

Bryn snickered. “And he could out dance all of our arses. Fareeha was the only one who could keep up with him.”

They stood in silence, remembering the good memories instead of the bitter ones. The only sounds in the hanger was the heavy thump of arrows hitting the target and Shimada’s occasional barked orders. 

Emotions were shite, so Bryn pushed them to the back of her mind. “Well, things are ‘bout to get tenser than Morrison’s arsehole in a second. I’m gonna take a seat and watch the show,” Bryn said, sticking her hands in her pockets and walking back toward the training area. 

“Why’s that?” 

“You’ll see, cowboy.”

McCree walked beside her and Bryn almost snickered at how Shimada tensed up when Genji walked into the practice range with Torbjorn. Genji had mentioned teaming up with the Swedish mechanic to work on tactics to take down turrets and she offered to join, hence why she knew how shit was going to hit the fan. 

Both brothers froze and stared at each other. 

It would have been like a scene from one of those cheesy anime if someone thought about it. Bryn thought really hard about it.

“Shit,” McCree grumbled, tipping his hat lower. 

Genji ended up talking first, bowing slightly. “Brother.”

Hanzo nodded and Bryn could see his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped. Otherwise, the grade A resting bitch face remained. “Genji.”

Another awkward silence. 

“Shite, you can hear a fly fart,” Bryn grouched. Loudly. 

Torbjorn was the first to break down into laughter. “You always did have the best sayings,” he said, moving toward the other side of the hanger. “Now, you and McCree can join in on this exercise. Genji wants to practice taking down turrets and I assume you two wouldn’t be against it.” 

Bryn got a stern finger pointed at her. “And no grenades! Shotguns only.”

Rolling her eyes, Bryn picked up said shotguns from the weapon rack. 

“You should join us brother, a good sniper is always effective against turrets.”

Another tense silence.

 _Dammit Genji_ , Bryn snarled in her mind, glaring at the cyborg. 

Hanzo’s bitch face fell slightly and he nodded. “Very well.”

Bryn almost choked on her own spit. He _**agreed**_? 

Well, this was going to be an interesting training session. 

“I’ll get my meka!” Hana announced, running toward where her meka was parked. 

A very interesting training session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's an update after forever. I had to rewrite a bunch of stuff because Tracer is taken. That's okay though, I love her and Emily just as much and Bryn can be her own woman.


	19. Atta Girl

After a string of fairly successful missions, the new members of Overwatch bonded even more and soon, Jara found herself pulled into many different types of competitions.

There was a video game tournament one night. Not everyone joined or participated, but it was refreshing to see the ones who did have a good time. 

There was a singing competition involving a dusty karaoke machine and McCree ruining country for everyone. 

Then the dancing competition. 

The drinking competition was easily between Reinhardt, Torbjorn, Bryn, and surprisingly, Fareeha.

Now, they were having a shooting competition between the snipers of the group. 

Jaramogi found herself neck and neck with Hanzo and Ana. 

Both were extremely good, but the challenge was also to see who could be the most accurate with the fastest time. There were 30 different shots and she was in the lead with Hanzo right behind her. 

Jara reloaded and she quickly spotted the next target on the other side of the range. Athena was making the targets extremely difficult and even Jara had trouble seeing the them. She narrowed her eye, lining up the shot. 

“C’mon darlin!”

Jara and Hanzo took their shots. Both bulls-eyes. Ana was right behind them. As she was lining up the next one, McCree took it further. “Good job, darlin’!”

She heard Hanzo’s breath hitch before he whipped around and snapped. “I am NOT your ‘darlin’ so stop calling me that!”

The cowboy only answered that with a snicker. 

“Some things never change,” Ana grumbled under her breath, reloading her rifle. 

“So it seems,” Jara agreed. McCree always was a big flirt. 

“Ay-o! They have just one more to go!” Lucio cheered. 

Soon, everyone was either gasping in suspense or cheering their teammates on. Jara had felt pressure before, but being against two other elite snipers was a little daunting, even though she was at their level. 

A soft whisper suddenly reached her ears and Jara thought she was imagining things at first, but then she heard it again. “C’mon, you got this.”

Jack hadn’t been here at the start of the competition, but of course he would stop by for the end of it. 

Everything slowed down as she focused in on the last target, which was in the window at the very top of the hanger. She almost couldn’t see it because of the sunlight. She could hear the bow string on Storm Bow start to creak as Hanzo got ready to release, she could hear Ana let out a held breath as she shot. Jara could see the individual dust particles in the various beams of sunlight shining through the hanger. All she could hear now was her own pulse in her ears. Hanzo’s arrow entered her peripheral vision and she took her shot. 

A heavy hush fell over the crowd as Athena calculated the scores. 

“Agent Jaramogi won the match,” she announced. 

“Who was the most accurate?” Hanzo asked. Jara could see his metaphorical feathers getting more ruffled by the second. 

Ah, a sore loser. 

“Agents Jaramogi and Agent Shimada hit the bulls-eye. Agent Amari was one centimeter off.”

The metaphorical feathers smoothed out again.

Alright, sore loser AND a perfectionist.

Ana cursed in Arabic. “Damn, I must be going soft,” she teased, giving Jara a proud look. 

The barely-there whisper happened again through everyone else’s voices. “Atta girl.” 

Jara stood upright, glancing over at the general direction of his voice. There he was, leaning against the wall behind everyone else. Jack’s eyes met hers and he gave her a small grin. She couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Don’t worry, darlin’. Yer still the apple of my eye.”

No one was prepared for Hanzo to storm over to McCree and get in the other man’s face. “Never,” he said, soft and low, “call me ‘darlin’. Ever. Again.”

Jara was suddenly reminded this man used to be yakuza. 

McCree kept a straight face, but Jara could tell how this affected him. His increased heart rate was loud in her ears. She shared a look with Ana and both women rolled their eyes. 

“Sure thing, dar-“

Hanzo’s eyes narrowed. 

“Shimada-san,” McCree quickly corrected. 

Hanzo huffed and literally stuck his nose in the air as he walked away from McCree, yellow ribbon flowing behind him. 

A silence fell over this part of the group. 

Bryn elbowed McCree in the arm, tapping ash off her cigarette. “I think yer gettin’ somewhere with him.” 

Genji, meanwhile, was laughing his ass off and he was starting to curl into a ball on the floor. Everyone else either ignored the whole spectacle and started to congratulate and praise the snipers’ skills or they were groaning or shaking their heads. McCree was looking after the archer with a look Jara could only describe as ‘smitten’. 

Tracer poked McCree in the arm. “One of these days he’s going to beat you senseless.” 

Hana popped her bubble gum. “Yeah, and I hope to get it on camera!”

McCree took a deep breath, taking off his hat and running his fingers through his hair. Jara wondered when he got it cut last. He really needed to get it trimmed at least. He replaced the hat. “Sugar, I’d let him.”

Jara shared one more unamused look with Ana before walking toward the back of the room. Jack was still there, but now he was pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s gonna get his ass kicked,” he grumbled as she approached. 

“That’s what Lena said,” Jara chuckled, leaning her rifle against the wall. 

He lowered his hand and his bright blue eyes zeroed in on her. “Good job, about time someone beat Ana.”

Jara shrugged, looking down at her feet bashfully. “Well, I had some words of encouragement at the end.”

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “I wasn’t sure if you could hear me or not.”

“’Atta girl’,” Jara mimicked, tilting her head with a teasing smile. 

Jack huffed and crossed his arms, looking away from her. Jara wondered if she was imagining things when she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink. “Fine, see if you hear anything nice from me ever again.”

“You do the same thing during missions,” Jara retorted, clasping her hands in front of her. She remembered when they were in Dorado a week ago and a Los Muertos member almost got the jump on him but she was able to snipe them down before he could get to 76. 76 had looked up at her and told her ‘good shot’. 

“Do not.”

“Oh? Do my ears deceive me then?”

“You should get your implants checked.”

“No, you compliment me a lot now,” her grin became coy, “I think my implants are fine.”

It was funny, it was as if a metaphorical barrier had been torn down in Greece. Now, Jara didn’t feel uncertain when she teased him. He actually was dishing out as much as she was. 

And she wasn’t kidding, he was complimenting her more now, and not just on her shot. 

Just yesterday, he said her hair looked good. 

The day before that, it was her eyes were pretty. 

Jack Morrison may have been out of the game for a while, but he didn’t forget how to play entirely it seemed. 

“Why don’t I get compliments?” Jack huffed, sounding annoyed. The barely there glint of humor in his eyes took the edge off his words.

Feeling bold, Jara stepped closer to him. Their chests were almost touching and she could hear his breath hitch and his heartrate pick up. “You want a compliment?” 

He held her gaze, arching a brow, looking stern. 

Jara leaned forward, holding her face inches from his. “Your voice,” she started, keeping her voice soft and low, “Is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Keep the compliments coming, Soldier.”

Deciding to be mean, she left, picking up her rifle with a smug grin as she walked away. 

She was getting good at teasing him.

She might have been out of the game too but she probably played it a lot more than he did. 

His heartbeat still thudded rapidly in her ears as she walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitchy Hanzo is the best Hanzo


	20. Memories

Bryn knew it was going to be a good time when she, Jesse, Genji, Angela, Fareeha, Lena, and Jaramogi got together to pull up old pictures and videos they had of the old Overwatch days. 

It was even better when the beer came out. 

Others were there too. Ana or one of the other old members would occasionally chip in as they were passing by or pull up their own pictures. The younger and newer members looked actually interested in their stories, which weren’t that impressive in Bryn’s opinion. They didn’t fight in the Omnic Crisis like the older members did. They all joined after that shit was over. 

“So, how did you guys meet Reyes? We’ve heard a bunch of stories about the others, but what about him?” Hana asked, popping her gum. She was looking at an old picture of Morrison, Reyes, and Amari standing together and smiling. It was during the Omnic Crisis. 

“I met him during the Slipstream project! He was invested in it because it would have helped Blackwatch agents on their ops,” Lena piped up. She blew some hair out of her face. “Too bad it all went belly up.” She giggled. “Took one look at me and said, ‘This is the pilot?’ and I told him ‘You better believe it!’. He said he liked me after that.”

“He told me I was just another punk he picked off the street and he told me the lights on my body were emo," Genji recalled, snickering, "He was also the one who talked me out of many of my funks. Still made fun of the lights." He looked at Angela. "I was picked on so much because of the lights."

Angela huffed. “I recall you saying the lights were your favorite part the other day.” Her teasing expression took back the edge on her words. She then faced the younger members again. “I met Reyes when Ana was showing me around the medbay. He was in here getting stitched up and cursing up a storm.” 

“Sounds like him,” Jaramogi agreed. She looked up in thought. “I met him when he and Ana put Jesse and I against each other in training. He told me I might actually be worth the trouble.” She gave McCree a teasing look. “Your spurs and tobacco always gave you away when you tried to sneak up on me.” 

“Now now, the spurs are cool,” McCree huffed, holding up a foot. 

“No, they’re not,” Fareeha laughed. 

“Are too.”

“Are not ya feckin’ gobshite,” Bryn huffed, grinning at him. 

As usual, Jesse was unfazed by the ribbing. He tilted his head down, which Bryn knew he did so his hat could hide his expression. “Ya don’ wanna hear about how I first met Reyes,” Jesse snorted with a whistle, taking a deep swig from a flask. 

“Why?” Lucio asked, looking puzzled.

Bryn decided to throw her friend a bone. She knew he didn’t like talking about how he joined Overwatch. Only the people from the old crew knew the real story, and she had a pretty strong feeling he didn’t want the two new ones to find out. 

“I met him when I was 10 years old,” Bryn piped in, setting down her empty beer bottle. She twisted the cap off of another one. “Durin’ the Omnic Crisis. Me dad was a weapons and tool engineer. Taught me everythin’ I know ‘bout that stuff.” She took a deep swig of the beer. 

“I was outside me dad’s lab one day, messin’ around on a tablet when a bunch of other little shits like me decided to pick on me. I—“

“Wait, _**you**_ were bullied?” 

Bryn smirked at Hana. “What? Ya don’t believe me?”

“No.”

Hana wasn’t the only one that spoke. McCree, Tracer, Angela, Fareeha, and a couple others also said it. 

“I’ve never seen you get bullied, Bryn McFinnigan. No one had the guts to,” Fareeha stated, “And we’ve been here since the very beginning.” 

“Ah, but I’m tellin’ you the story about how the Bryn you know now was created. Wanna hear?”

Even Jesse arched an interested brow. “Ya never did tell me how you met the grumpy bastard,” he commented, chewing on his cigar. 

“Like I said, I was 10 years old. And believe it or not, my hair was even crazier then. The little bastards started to pull it and shit. None o’ us saw Reyes coming down the hallway. The arse was going to talk to me dad about a mod on his shotguns.”

Bryn stood up and crossed her arms, doing the typical ‘Reyes’ stance. “The hell is going on here?” she said as low as she could, trying to get Reyes’ raspy, deep voice just right. 

Many of the old members started to laugh. “Ya sound just like him!” McCree cackled. 

Bryn scowled and did the ‘Reyes slow clap’ toward him. “Ingrate.”

All of the older members were giggling wildly now. “That was perfect,” Genji snorted. 

“Anyway, he scared the right piss out of ‘em. They all scrammed. Me? I didn’t know who the feck this guy was and I was embarrassed as hell. And I was nervous because, I’ll admit it, he scared the shit outta me too.” 

Bryn paused dramatically, pointing a finger at the two younger members. “Now Reyes, he always wore that shitty beanie around. Only took it off when he absolutely had to. The bastard whipped it right off and bent over so I could see the top of his damn head. Curliest shit I have seen to this day.”

She did the Reyes stance again. “Don’t let people make fun of something you can’t control. It’s pretty damn stupid.”

That got another set of giggles from the older members of the crowd. “Me dad happened to walk out and that was when I discovered that Commander Fucking Reyes himself stood up for me. He was my weird, grumpy uncle from that moment on.”

“Reyes always was my grumpy uncle. Jack was the clueless uncle that tried his best. And Reinhardt was the cool grandpa and Torbjorn was the grandpa that hid from everyone else,” Fareeha stated, giggling away. 

“Torbjorn was the arse uncle that only visited on Christmas!” Bryn snorted. 

“What does that make Ana?” Lucio laughed. 

“The badass bitch that held everythin’ together,” Bryn instantly answered. 

“I’ll drink to that!” McCree cheered. 

Everyone took a drink to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a big fan of grumpy Papa Gabe and the idea he adopted kids like Bruce Wayne. 
> 
> And I've got some angst ideas coming up so I figured having a happy chapter or two was probably a good idea.


	21. Mama Mogi

Some nights, it was hard to sleep. Memories of all the ops she ran for the APC seemed too recent and those were the nights Jaramogi either hid in the kitchen with a cup of coffee or she sat out on the roof, looking up at the stars. 

She didn’t expect to find Hana Song sitting up on the roof too. 

She had her phone in her hands and it looked like she was video talking to someone. She was speaking in rapid Korean. Even though Jara didn’t know a word of Korean, she could tell Hana was trying to be encouraging or uplifting. She used the same tone when she got ready for missions. 

Deciding to give the girl some privacy, Jara turned to leave, until she heard Hana’s words become choked and they sounded forced. Jara halted in her tracks, wanting to go over and comfort her like she used to for her sisters. 

A small ‘beep’ ended Hana’s call and the girl looked over her shoulder at Jara. She wiped at her eyes. “Hey,” she said softly. 

Jaramogi’s protective urge grew stronger and she stepped closer to Hana. “Are you alright?”

Hana shrugged. “As I can be.”

Jara sat down on the roof beside Hana, looking out over Gibraltar. 

“The omnic from home adapted again,” Hana whispered, hands clenching into fists. 

Jara’s stomach felt like it dropped to the ground and she stared down at her hands. What happened in Korea was horrible. And it was so easy to forget that Hana fought in a war before. The girl led attacks against omnics and was a damn good soldier. Jara felt foolish for forgetting those facts, since she fought at such a young age herself once. 

“Are you going to go home?” she asked, resisting the urge to reach out and put an arm around the girl. She didn’t think Hana would appreciate it. 

Hana remained silent for many moments, staring out at the ocean. 

Jaramogi stayed quiet as well, looking out at how the moon was shining on the water. She looked down at the courtyard and she almost huffed out a laugh when she saw Hanzo climbing up the cliff nearby. The man was bonkers sometimes. He practiced at ungodly times at night and he climbed up cliffs to do it. Using her enhancements, she looked up at the top of the cliff, barely seeing the head of a makeshift practice dummy at the top. He must be heading up there to practice shooting in the dark and aiming with the wind.

“What the heck is he doing?” Hana asked, following Jara’s eyesight. Here eyes were narrowed as she tried to see Hanzo's small shape.

“Practicing, if I had to guess.”

“Ugh, he’s such a perfectionist. He needs to let go every once in a while.”

Jara wondered if she should mention how she saw the archer glancing at various different types of piercings and hairstyles on his tablet the other day. She stayed quiet about it. 

“So why are you out here?” Hana asked. 

Jara didn’t miss how she avoided her question, but she didn’t pry. “Couldn’t sleep. I have bad dreams about my time with the ACP sometimes.”

While she wasn’t proud of her past, Jara wasn’t afraid to talk about it like she used to be. With the help of her commanding officers and friends, she had come to accept it and try to be a better person because of it. 

“What was the ACP? I remember seeing it in your file.”

Right, the files Winston gave each agent to help them get to know one another. 

Jara looked back out at the sea. “It was a terrorist group that was based in Africa. They were taking advantage of the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis and caused more trouble in the countries that were still at war. They dropped their troops in these areas to kill and capture citizens, they stole weapons, and conscripted who they could for their experiments.”

“Hold on, you were a part of this?”

A small sigh escaped from Jara. “They were clever, you see. They posted fliers in poor, rural areas, telling people to join a military group that wanted to bring peace. I was naïve. I thought I could do good and support my sisters.” She frowned. “That doesn’t excuse my actions.”

“Were they the ones that made your senses super powerful?”

Jara’s heart sunk to her stomach. “Yes…I was the only subject that survived the experiment. They tried putting the enhancements on 10 snipers.”

Hana’s eyes widened. “I thought…I thought Winston or Angela was behind it, since they know so much about them.”

Jara shook her head. “The African Peace Cadets had one goal with that experiment…to create the perfect hunters.” 

Hana fell silent and both women looked out at the base now. Jara started to kick her leg a little, remembering the few friends she made among the snipers. Their nervous systems couldn’t handle the enhancements and their brains basically short circuited. Jara survived somehow. The scientists mentioned something called myelin and how she had more of it than the others, but she didn’t really care at the time. 16-year-old Jara was devastated about what happened and that was when she started to cut herself off from others. 

Tracer used to joke about how Jara had no emotions back in the day when she first joined Overwatch. 

It took Jesse and Bryn 5 months to crack a smile from her. 

“I’m sorry,” Hana mumbled, tucking some hair behind her ear. “It must have been tough.”

Jara looked at her out of the corner of her eye. She was proud of how she could control the enhancements now. She would call the experience like zooming in with a camera, or turning the volume up on a radio with the hearing. Hana’s heart was pounding in her chest and Jara could see the tears forming in the dim light the moon provided. 

Finally giving into her motherly instinct, she wrapped an arm around Hana’s shoulders and pulled her close to her. It was like opening the flood gates. Hana silently cried into her shoulder and Jara rested her head on top of hers, rubbing her arm. 

“I want to go home and help fight, but I don’t want to leave you guys here either,” Hana sniffled, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t know what to do and it sucks.”

Jara pulled away slightly and reached up to cup the girl’s cheek in her hand. She brushed some tears away with her thumb. “No one would blame you if you did go home, Hana Song.” 

Hana sniffed, tears welling up again. Jara pulled her close and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Hana’s arms wrapped around her waist and she buried her face into Jara’s shoulder. 

Jara didn’t know how long they remained like that, but she was willing to stay there as long as she had to. 

“You’re good at this comforting thing,” Hana managed to weakly laugh out. 

“I have two little sisters. I know a thing or two,” Jara retorted. 

Hana pulled away, grinning up at her. “I should call you Mama Mogi.”

“Don’t,” Jara laughed. 

“I should! Then you and Pops can finally take on your role as team parents.”

“I am not motherly,” Jara huffed. 

“Yeah…and I’m imagining things when you get super worried when we’re on missions. You’re worse than Dad 76 and Ana sometimes.”

Jara rolled her eyes at that. She took her job seriously, so what? “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Hana snickered, pushing her bangs back from her face. She lightly punched Jara’s arm. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. I meant what I said. We’ll support you no matter what.”

Hana’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Do you think Winston would be willing to send some of us to help out?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Hana perked up at that. “I’ll ask him at the next meeting.”

“I’ll back you up.”

Hana’s expression suddenly became too mischievous for Jara’s liking. “You know, if you come with me, Pops will be right on our heels.”

“Stop joking around,” Jara huffed, rolling her eyes with an amused grin. 

“I’m going to make you two a thing. It’s giving me tension.” 

Jara gently shoved her. “I don’t need your help.”

Hana rolled her eyes. “Sure you don’t.”

Jara thought about the sniper competition the other day. She smirked at Hana. “Do you want to hear what I said to him at—“

“Ah! No. Stop right there.”

Both women fell silent again. Jara could hear the faint ‘thump’ of Hanzo’s arrows hitting the dummies on the cliff. 

Jara slept soundly when they both finally went back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It kind of annoys me when I see D.va just be the little gaming gremlin in some fanfics instead of showing that she's actually fought in war before. I realized I was falling into the same trap toward the beginning of these oneshots and I promise to fix that mistake in future ones. I also wanted to show Jara's motherly side.


	22. Hackers and Ghosts

Bryn hated how she was basically the IT person now. 

And the fact Winston was trying to get her to hack into Volskaya Industries security footage was annoying enough. It was obviously encrypted and Bryn was having a bitch of a time figuring out how to get past it. All she would get when she tried was a purple skull. Winston wanted this footage because of Reaper and Widowmaker. They were apparently seen at Volskaya and Winston wanted to know why they were after Katya Volskaya in the first place. 

Bryn also hated the wireless connection at the watchpoint and she set up her own router, and that was the only thing keeping her in a slightly decent mood. Her setup was 10 times faster, thank Christ. It kept her sane. 

A line of purple code suddenly showed up in the corner of her screen and she froze. “FUCK!” she snarled, pushing everything else aside and starting to type furiously. This little shit thought they could come into HER computer and start looking at shit?!

The fact a purple skull showed up just proved that it was the same hacker. “Athena! Tell Winston I have a breach in my security. I’m containing it now. Tell him to start locking down on your systems.”

“Locking down the system. Do you require assistance, Agent McFinnigan?” 

“Nope. Just let me work.”

Bryn typed furiously, jaw clenching as she saw the hacker’s code start moving to a different part of her system. “Not on my computer bitch!” she seethed through clenched teeth. 

“Athena, tell Winston that if he wants to talk he needs to go through the speaker system on your interface. He’ll get hacked if he tries to go through mine.” 

“Already done.”

Bryn really needed to tell Athena how much she appreciated her more. Now was not the time. The hacker was able to get into her video system, so she knew the asshole was probably watching her get more and more pissed off through her webcam. Bryn quickly did a move that was risky, but her dad had vouched for it all the time back in the day. He used it whenever Overwatch’s system was hacked in the past. 

She quickly copied and pasted a part of the code and started to work it against itself. Soon, she had the hacker contained in a program that the code couldn’t escape. 

Bryn leaned back with a breath and the red system alerts started to go away on her screen. Winston loped in. “Bryn, did you contain it?”

Bryn sat up straight, stretching her arms before resting her hands behind her head. “You bet yer arse I did. They’re good. I’ll give them that.”

Winston gingerly worked his way around her workbenches and got behind her, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the screen. The skull was bouncing around the program box Bryn put it in. “How did you do it?” Winston asked, staring at the lines of code curiously. 

“An old trick from me dad. Works every time.” Bryn knew the hacker probably was still looking at her through the webcam, so she stared at it. “It’s not nice to snoop around in other people’s stuff, ya little shit.” She smirked. “Now I have the code necessary to see what else you’ve had your fingers in. Thanks, shithead!”

She terminated the program and updated her security system. “You better be thankful I have my own router and shite. They would have gotten into the whole system here otherwise.” 

Winston snorted and tapped the screen. “Can you get into the Volskaya security now?”

Bryn used the same code she got from the hacker and worked her magic. Soon, she had multiple windows of footage playing across her screen. They saw the hacker waiting outside on one side of the base. “Huh, nice tech,” Bryn whistled, watching how the hacker used only one hand to do her job. 

The woman wasn’t bad to look at either. 

“Focus,” Winston huffed, grinning. 

Damn, he knew her so well.

The rest of the footage had her shut up. She had never seen Reaper before or knew how he fought. A lot of it was eerily familiar. And the person who he reminded her of was dead. A chill went down her spine when she saw how he literally turned into smoke. “He does this shit for real? And you and Tracer won against him?”

Winston huffed. “I was barely able to subdue him when he and Talon attacked the base. Tracer was a big help when we discovered they were trying to steal from the museum. He’s talented and ruthless. And I believe he has other goals than helping Talon out.”

Bryn paused the footage. “Like what?”

Winston adjusted his glasses again, looking grim. “I have reasons to believe he’s targeting former Overwatch agents. I contacted a few shortly after the recall and some of them had been dead for weeks.”

Bryn stiffened in her seat, feeling a rush of anger flow through her. Jesse had told her about the former Blackwatch agents he saw on the train that caused him to earn the bounty on his head. 

Was this wacko a former Blackwatch agent too? 

“Well if that’s the case, we better take his arse out,” Bryn growled, playing the footage again. 

The way Reaper moved and stood even bothered Bryn. She had to keep reminding herself that it couldn’t possibly be him. Winston watched the hacker pursue Volskaya while Bryn watched the mercenary take down a Volskaya mech all by himself. 

He used to do shit like that too, Bryn thought, watching the wraith throw aside two more shotguns. 

Her throat closed up when she finally heard the man’s voice. “Get back to the ship.”

“Winston, do you know who he-“

“Yes, and I’ve questioned Jack and Ana about it multiple times. I know they’ve had a run-in with him as well.” 

“What did they say?” Bryn turned in her chair, clenching her fists.

“They claim to not know who he is.”

Winston didn’t look convinced, and Bryn didn’t feel better with the news. “He fought just like—“

“I know.”

They remained in a tense silence, looking at the paused black figure on the screen. Bryn could feel herself getting more antsy and angry by the second. 

“I’m going to ask them about it. This is bullshit,” Bryn growled, standing up. 

“I wouldn’t if I were you. Jack threatened to leave the last time I asked him about it,” Winston quickly said, putting his burly arm in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. “And we need both him and Ana now more than ever. Their investigation has helped us move forward.”

Bryn’s fists clenched even tighter. “Ya think I’m gonna sit here and accept the fact that the man I used to see as a father is out there hurting people?!”

Winston sighed heavily through his nose. “Bryn, I know it’s hard. I’ve been frustrated about it myself. But I believe waiting and figuring out the information by ourselves is the best course of action right now. With your experience in Blackwatch, I believe you are the best person to help me with this investigation.”

This was all bullshit, but she had to agree with Winston. On a tactical level, having the former Strike-Commander and Captain was more important than her need to know what the fuck is going on. And she knew if Jack left, Ana would follow. 

“Do you think you can pull up other places the hacker could have gotten into?” Winston asked, “The more we know about all three of them, the better chance we have at capturing them and stopping them.”

Bryn put on her game face, just like Gabe taught her. _Focus on the present and what you can do, chiquita, Ignore everything outside of that._

“Where do you want me to start, ya big lug?” Bryn huffed, marching back to her computer. 

She was going to take down this asshole even if she had to do it herself.

* * *

Jesse came by many hours after Winston left. Bryn shut all the doors to her lab and immediately shut off all communicating devices. 

McCree gave her a deadpan stare. “I’m just gonna assume ya got somethin’ important to tell me.”

Bryn crossed her arms, kicking out a chair for him. “Sit.”

McCree sat, tossing his hat onto her desk. “What’s wrong, Finny?”

“Have ya ever heard of Reaper?”

McCree’s brows furrowed. “I have. Earned himself a nasty reputation among mercs and bounty hunters. Works fer Talon usually. Why?” He lit a cigar and stuck it between his teeth, resting his forearms on his thighs.

“I need to show ya somethin’ then.”

Bryn pulled up the footage from Volskaya. 

She watched as McCree’s brows furrowed more and more and he put out the cigar. His lips turned down into a grim, firm line. 

“Please tell me ya see what I see,” Bryn said quietly, brows pinched. Her stomach dropped to the floor the more she thought about it. 

“I do, darlin’ and I don’ like it.” McCree sat back up again. “Dammit, what the hell is goin’ on here?”

“Winston asked me to help investigate this bastard, I’m unofficially asking you to keep yer ear to the ground and help us catch him.” Bryn leaned forward, sticking a cigarette between her lips. “I also want ya to see what Ana knows. Jack is bein’ a tight-lipped arse. And I know yer close with her.” 

Jesse scratched at his beard before rubbing the back of his neck, sighing. “I’ll try, darlin. Can’t promise I’ll get anythin’ out of her.” 

Bryn lit her cigarette. “That’s all I can ask of you, Jess.”

They both stared at the screen and Bryn could feel her jaw getting tenser by the moment. Shit, she needed a drink. 

“We may be steppin’ into some deep shit with this, Brynnie,” Jesse said, relighting his cigar. 

“I know…but that’s not what I’m afraid of.”

She was more terrified of the truth more than anything. And what would happen if they really did find out what happened to Overwatch. 

And what happened to Gabriel Reyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bryn's poor gay ass can't focus if pretty chicks are involved.


	23. Worried

Soldier 76 had been in situations where things could get fucked super quick. 

This was one of them. 

The number of Talon agents was more than the recon report said there was and the team was holding strong, barely. Soldier 76 covered D.va as she held up her shield matrix. Winston had a barrier up and Pharah and Huntress were their eyes from above. Tracer tried to flank, but 76 saw her blipping back to them frequently. “I can’t get around them, Guv’na!”

Not even McFinnigan could get a foothold, and that was saying something. “Feckin’ gobshites!” she snarled, reloading her grenade launcher. She shot a grenade and hid again, getting her shotgun ready.

Mercy was staying with him and Winston, firing her own pistol. “We need to pull back!” she shouted, hiding behind a corner with him. 

76 growled in frustration. He knew she was right, but this bunker was extremely important to Talon and would strike a major blow if they could take it over. 

“Huntress, Pharah, what does it look like up there?!” Winston asked, pressing a finger to the com in his ear. 

“10 more heading your way,” Pharah reported. The deep boom of her rockets sounded throughout the small gorge the team found themselves in. 

“I’ve got the Commander in my sights.”

76 will mentally deny the shiver that went down his spine at the sound of Jaramogi’s voice right in his ear for the rest of his days. 

He and Winston shared a look. 76 tried to make sure the scientist made most of the decisions on operations and the new Overwatch. The last thing 76 wanted to do was take command again, but it was hard to kill old habits. Winston nodded, giving 76 a pointed look. 76 held a finger up to his ear. “Huntress, if you can take the shot, do it. Stay safe.”

“Copy,” she said softly. 76 could see her on her perch high on the cliff side. 

“Attack incoming!” Pharah warned. 

The team was able to hold off for the next group and was able to move forward in the gorge. 

76 whipped the end of his rifle around, smashing it into a Talon agent’s face before lowering his shoulder and knocking him to the ground. A shot was all it took. He dove behind cover, heart racing when he saw Mercy get cut off from D.va. “Angela!” he yelled, standing so she could see him. 

Mercy activated her suit and was by his side right as a Talon agent came around the corner of the old gas station. Before 76 could even aim his rifle or put himself between Mercy and the Talon agent, the agent fell to the ground. Blood started to pool underneath them. 

“You’re clear,” Huntress said in their ears. 

76 couldn’t see Huntress’ position anymore, but he felt a hell of a lot better knowing she and Pharah were watching their asses. 

“They’re starting to dwindle down, hang in there!” Pharah barked from her spot on the roof. She shot another rocket and then shot up in the air. 

“You heard her! Keep pushing!” 76 bellowed, covering D.va from his spot. 

“The Commander is down,” Huntress reported. 

“Good work, Huntress,” Winston responded, leaping forward with D.va. 

76 moved to follow and he tried to not look up toward Jaramogi. He knew if he did that, he might give her away. 

“Moving to new location. I can see at least 7 more.”

“Be careful, Huntress,” 76 found himself saying, making sure Mercy didn’t have anyone tailing her. 

“You too, Soldier.” He saw a black shape leap further up on the cliff side. “I’ll make sure no one gets Angela. Go help Bryn and Tracer. They’re getting ganged up on in the base!”

It didn’t take the team too long to finally get into the base itself.

“Mission success agents, the transport should be here in 10 minutes.” Winston looked weary, but relieved after he made the announcement. Everyone breathed a little easier. 76 couldn’t help but feel relieved himself. They took over an important Talon base and he might have another clue in his investigation. He had come to a standstill, which had led him to join the newly formed Overwatch in the first place. 

76 activated his com device. “Pharah, Huntress, did you get that?”

“Copy,” Pharah replied. 76 could see her floating high in the air outside the outpost, slowly floating down to the ground. 

“Huntress, do you copy?”

76 frowned behind his visor and everyone started to look at each other in worry. “Jaramogi!” 76 snapped, looking for possible points she could be in. He marched outside and looked up at the cliffs, eyes narrowed in concentration.

76’s heart sunk and his blood turned to ice in his veins, just like when Ana was supposedly shot down all those years ago. “Pharah, get a visual on her,” 76 ordered, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. 

“Copy that.”

76 threw down an emitter and forced himself to remain calm as the others joined him. Bryn grumbled her thanks and she narrowed her eyes at him. Shit, she used to be in Blackwatch. 76 knew Reyes taught all of his agents how to read people.

“She’s fine. She used to take down Blackwatch agents in sims all the time. Her com is probably out of range,” Bryn grumbled, reaching into her pocket for a cigarette. 

The nagging worry for Huntress still remained in his mind. He couldn’t lose her, not when he didn’t have a chance to tell her…he shook the thought from his head, focusing on the present. 

The transport arrived and Pharah still hadn’t found the sniper.

The rest of the team started to look worried. They haven’t lost anyone in their newly formed group, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. 

“We should spread out. We all know the kind of spots she likes to set up,” Tracer suggested, looking at 76 for approval. 

Knowing that Jara would kick his ass if he let them split up, he shook his head. “No, we don’t know if there are more Talon agents around and that would put more of us in danger. Pharah has the best chance of finding her.”

D.va opened her mouth to argue, but a growl from 76 shut her up. 

Winston adjusted his glasses. “76 is right. We don’t know who else is out there yet.”

A beep on his com sounded and he held his finger up to it, turning it on. His heart started to pound even harder, preparing for the worst. Pharah’s voice filled his ear. “76, I’m with Huntress, her com device is down and she has a mild injury on her arm. She’s stable. We’re near the mines.”

He heard a rustling noise and his heart skipped a beat when he heard Jara’s voice. “I’m alright, Jack. Make sure everyone else is safe.”

More rustling and Pharah’s voice returned. “We’ll meet you at the transport.”

76 sighed heavily in relief, lowering his gun. Everyone else visibly relaxed as well. They all made it out. The mission was a success despite the setbacks and Talon lost an important outpost. Despite this, 76 couldn’t fully relax. He finally came to a decision in his head as he stood next to the transport, facing in the direction of the mines. He saw both women jog around the corner, making their way toward them. 

76’s heart swelled in his chest and a feeling he didn’t have a name for caused his throat to tighten. For a few minutes, he thought he had lost her just like he lost so many others, and his heart was still racing at the thought. He had to admit, he usually had stupid ideas when he was in this state of mind. 

As they got closer, he started to walk toward them. He remembered Ana’s words in Greece and he wasn’t afraid anymore. He pulled off the facemask, tossing it to the side, and his heart started to race for a different reason. She was okay, she was okay and smiling at him now. Jaramogi and Pharah slowed down to a walk and he kept up his pace. 

“76—“ she started, but was cut off when he pulled her close to him and leaned down.

The smell of citrus, cinnamon, and her surrounded him and he finally did something he had been wanting to do for months. 

Her lips were as soft as they looked and he felt her stiffen against him and he thought he made a mistake before she kissed him back. Her good hand rested on his side and her fingers curled into his jacket, pulling him closer. He cupped her cheek in his hand, tilting her head so he could deepen the kiss. 

He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, heart pounding. “Don’t do that shit again.”

Jara let out a soft laugh. “Is that an order?”

“Don’t be a smartass, you just scared the shit outta me,” he retorted, trying not to grin. 

Their eyes met and Jack couldn’t remember a more beautiful sight. They were slightly narrowed in amusement and the deep, brown color had him drowning. 

A short cough had 76 stiffening and he glanced over his shoulder. Everyone was staring at them. 

McFinnigan looked at Tracer. “Ya owe me 50 credits. Told ya he would start it.”

Tracer didn’t seem to mind. She was beaming at them. The beaming smile turned into a teasing grin and she giggled. 

“About time, Dad 76,” D.va snorted, moving her MEKA onto the transport. She was grinning too. 

76 coughed and rubbed the back of his neck, stepping back a little from Huntress. He quickly walked over to his visor and picked it up. Shit, that was a dumb idea. 

“How’s your arm?” he asked, gently inspecting it. It looked like a graze and not that serious, causing his worry to lower a little. Shit, he wished the others would stop looking at them.

“It hurts,” She paused and gave him a teasing grin, “but not as much now.”

76 cleared his throat, putting his hand on the small of her back. “C’mon, let’s get you to Angela.”

She surprised him by standing on the tips of her toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Of course.”

Jesus, he was never going to live that down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY HOLY CRAP  
> Life and school have been keeping me busy friends, and I apologize for that. And I just had to think of a new OC so that took time too. Expect her in future chapters!
> 
> Anyway, the old man finally pulled his head out of the sand and things can finally get moving.


	24. Carbon Fiber and Hidey Holes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bryn talks some sense into Anela and finally gives Shimada a chance.

Bryn appreciated the fact Anela Kahale returned to Overwatch. 

The woman was a damn good medic and she had Blackwatch experience on top of all of that. And of course, Bryn pulled her into her quarters one day to show her the Volskaya footage. She needed all the help she could get in this investigation and the woman could be a valuable resource. 

The Hawaiian’s thick brows were furrowed as she watched the screen, full lips set in a grim line as she watched. 

“Has Jesse seen this?” she asked, looking at Bryn. 

Damn, Bryn forgot how intense she could be. Her golden brown eyes were sparking and Bryn knew the woman was already planning in her head. “Yes, and he’s keeping his ear to the ground too. Yer one of the smartest bitches I know, so I need you in on this.” 

Anela huffed out a laugh. “I don’t know how much help I can be, but I promise to help as much as possible.” 

Bryn nodded, shutting down the footage. “That’s all I can ask for, Anela.”

Deciding to switch to a different topic, Bryn propped her feet up on her desk. “Speaking of Jess, is he still being a little bitch about feelings?” 

Anela gave Bryn a deadpan stare, frowning again. “And why are you so concerned with—“ 

“Because I know he still likes you.”

Anela sniffed derisively. “I’ve seen him flirt with Shimada.” 

Bryn snorted and waved it off. “That don’t count. I may not like the arse but you have to admit he’s pretty.”

Anela rolled her eyes. “He flirts with everyone anyway, it’s just how he is.” She shrugged. “Besides, I have a feeling he doesn’t think about me that way.”

Bryn frowned. Back in the day, Anela was closer to McCree than Bryn ever was. The two were nearly inseparable, and Bryn knew Jesse cared about her, loved her even. “What makes you say that?”

Sighing, the other woman sat down. “Because I gave him a letter telling him I love him when he left and I haven’t heard a word about it all week.”

Bryn stiffened. “What?!” she yelped, putting her feet back down. 

Anela picked at her cuticles, avoiding Bryn’s incredulous look. “Yeah, and he didn’t contact me for seven years, so I’m just gonna not bring it up and—“

“No! No no no no no, you are NOT gonna lay down and take this shite, Anela.” 

“Bryn—“ 

“He still cares about ya!” Bryn leaned forward, “Look, I’m like his sister, right? I know the shithead. You just gotta call him out and kick his arse into gear. Me, Fareeha, Ana, anyone from the old days will tell ya the same.” She poked Anela’s shoulder. “So call the little bitch out.” 

Anela tilted her head. “Do you know why he didn’t talk to me?”

Bryn sighed. Well, Jesse was already in a deep pit anyway, might as well start throwing the dirt on him. “He did it to protect ya. He rarely contacted me. And the only time he did was if he needed information on a bounty he was hunting or something. His bounty went up after he left Blackwatch.” She stuck a cigarette in her mouth. “I bet it’s because Reyes wasn’t protecting him anymore.”

Anela’s face was expressionless for a moment, and Bryn was reminded why she was called Blackwatch’s Angel while they stared at each other. Anela had a quiet intensity about her that only lessened when she was around close friends. The woman was gorgeous too. Her copper toned skin and dark, frizzy hair only complemented her round features. 

The medic stood. “Bryn, I also know him, and I know if I call him out before he’s ready to talk about it,” She turned away. “he’ll run. I’m not going to get my hopes up this time around.” 

She maneuvered her way around Bryn’s mismatched furniture and tool benches until she got to the door. 

“I’ll see if my contacts can figure out anything about Reaper or Widowmaker. The sooner we stop them the better.” She gave Bryn a small smile before opening the door. “Now, I gotta tell Jack, Ana, and Angela about a possible upgrade to the biotic fields.”

“Break a leg,” Bryn joked, chewing on her cigarette. 

Anela rolled her eyes before finally walking out, leaving Bryn alone. 

Not wanting to stew in the bad vibes in the room, Bryn stood up herself, brushed off her pants and started to make her way to the training range. 

Her mood only soured more when she saw Shimada aiming at some bots already. 

_He really ain’t that bad, Mad Dog._

The damn cowboy’s words kept ringing in her head. 

With a deep sigh, she finally came to a decision. If Jesse, Genji, Ana, and every other damn person at this base could make nice with him, she could at least be civil. 

“D’ya mind if I join?” she asked, picking up her shotgun. 

Shimada didn’t look surprised to see her. He shrugged, pulling another arrow from his quiver and taking aim again. 

Bryn settled in her spot, taking a few shots. “Good, because I was staying anyway.”

All she got was a small scoff.

One of Shimada’s scatter arrows bounced off the walls nearby and she finally asked a question that had been burning in her mind for months. 

“What metal do you use for your arrows? And if you took a 48-degree angle on that you would have had better velocity,” she stated, lowering her shotgun. 

Shimada stared at her before looking at where he shot the arrow. He aimed, mimicking his shot from before and tilting the angle slightly. “Hm…” was all he said, lowering his bow.   
“Why do you wish to know?” he asked, turning to her. His dark, piercing eyes seemed to see straight through her. Damn snipers. Jaramogi and Ana got the same looks in their eyes too. All seeing and shit. 

Bryn glared right back. “My inner weapon specialist is curious. Ya don’t have to tell me.”

Another hum of thought. 

After what seemed like ages, Shimada tossed an arrow to her. 

Bryn caught it, surprised at its light weight. She rolled her cigarette to the other side of her mouth, running her fingers along the shaft of the arrow. “Huh, carbon fiber. With…” she tapped on the arrowhead, “a titanium arrowhead.” She spun the arrow between her fingers. “Extremely balanced.”

She tossed the arrow back and he caught it easily. “Why a carbon fiber shaft? I would have used it for the arrowhead.” Bryn crossed her arms. 

Shimada smirked and pressed a button on the shaft. The head split apart into a scatter arrow. “Carbon fiber does not allow me to get the precision I want with the scatter arrow, and it doesn’t do as much damage.”

Bryn looked at the design of the scatter arrow. Suddenly, it all made sense. “That’s damn genius. The different weights…”

“Allow for the different forms without disrupting the balance.”

“Well kiss my arse and call me a donkey,” Bryn huffed. 

Shimada let out a soft huff. “I’d rather not.”

“I wouldn’t want ya kissin’ my arse anyway.” She grinned. “Not my type.” She gestured to his quiver. “So how do you balance the weight in your sonic arrows?” 

His ‘grade A bitch face’ fell for a moment and he started to explain. Then they talked about her shotgun. Then the armor on his legs. Then her glasses. 

Soon, they were talking about the effectiveness of certain bombs. 

“They’re loud and cause chaos,” Shimada snorted, waving her earlier compliment to them off. 

“They’re my shit, not every situation calls for secrecy. They cause enough chaos for someone good to flank ‘em and feck them up.” She grinned, looking out at where the bots were dutifully hovering. “Jess and I pulled that shite all the time with Reyes.” She pointed to a good vantage point for a sniper in the warehouse. “Then Mogi or someone else that was good would get the stragglers.” 

Shimada let out an amused huff. “Why am I not surprised you and the cowman would take that approach?”

Bryn’s brow furrowed. “Think what you want, but Jesse and I actually get shite done.” She bit down on her cigarette slightly before snapping, “And if you got off your high horse and actually gave a shite, you’d know that.”

Shimada sighed, finally slinging his bow over his shoulder. They stood in silence for many moments and Bryn was itching to light her cigarette. Damn, now she was reminded of why she didn’t like him. 

“I apologize,” he finally said, looking at her. 

Bryn bit through her cigarette she snapped her jaw shut so fast. She spat it out. “What?!”

He looked amused for a moment before looking away again. “You and McCree used to be members of the elite group here, I shouldn’t doubt.” A smirk came to his lips. “I did not mean to demean your abilities.”

Bryn stared in shock. She quickly adjusted her goggles, pressing a button that did a scan on him. Yep, it was a human, and not a fake in front of her. 

“Well shite, I guess yer human after all,” she huffed out, almost not believing this shit. 

His face fell slightly and Bryn actually felt bad for once. She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Look, I ain’t actually mad. I’m actually feckin surprised you apologized at all.”

Shimada let out a deep breath, finally looking her in the eye again. “I am…trying to work with others again. I am unaccustomed to after so long.’

Bryn huffed. “Just find a hidey hole and hide every once in a while. I do that and it helps when it gets overwhelming.”

Shimada blinked in shock and Bryn smirked. “I hid in a bunker and was on the run from Talon mercs for 8 years. I know what being on yer own is like. Group work is hard to get used to.”

After what seemed like years, Shimada nodded. “I will try to find one Genji can’t get to.”

Bryn threw her head back with a bark of laughter. “Good luck! That little shit can get anywhere.”

Shimada suddenly grinned fondly, and Bryn almost choked. “Yes, he did have a habit of getting into where he wasn’t supposed to.”

Bryn suddenly realized what Jesse and the others have been saying all along. He did give a damn about his brother. And she felt like an ass. Dammit, she was actually considering giving him a chance. 

Suddenly, the familiar ‘bang’ of Peacekeeper rang out on the other side of the warehouse. Bryn peeked around some crates and she saw Jesse making his way through a simulation like a man possessed. “What has his panties in a twist?” Bryn huffed, sticking a new cigarette in her mouth. 

Shimada looked along with her. “Hm…he has been acting strangely since the new medic arrived.” He looked back at her. “They were close?”

Bryn rolled her eyes. Of course Shimada noticed. He was sharp as a tack, much to her dismay. “Closer than close. He just never grew the balls to tell her.” She remembered Anela’s earlier comments and she frowned. “He needs to get off his ass this time around.”

Shimada hummed in thought.

Bryn looked at him with a frown. “Wait, why’re you so curious about it?”

“He stopped calling me those ridiculous nicknames when she arrived.” He grimaced.

Bryn groaned and rubbed at her forehead but the lack of noise had her looking at Jesse again. He was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Genji suddenly appeared out of feckin’ nowhere and the two talked for a minute before Genji started to make his way to them. 

Jesse suddenly reached into the pocket on his shirt and Bryn almost couldn’t believe this shit. 

He read what she assumed was Anela’s letter before bolting out of the shooting range. 

“What was that?” Shimada huffed, looking at her for explanation. 

Bryn finally lit her cigarette. “I believe that was him getting off his ass.”

“Hm.”

Genji chose the perfect moment to approach. “Greetings!”

“What did you do?” Bryn grumbled, jerking her thumb toward where Jesse disappeared to. 

“I just told him he was stupid.”

Bryn sighed and took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Yep, sounds about right.”

All three listened as the loud ‘bang’ of the door opening and shutting filled the air.

The damn jingle of spurs was still echoing through the training area.

“Feckin’ gobshite.”


	25. Manta Rays and Matcha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anela finally has a conversation with Hanzo.

Anela always tried to get to know the agents around her, they could become her patients someday and she liked to build rapport with them right away. 

She already knew some of the agents. She was pleased to see the progress Genji had made, she used to worry about him during the old days. She couldn’t remember how many times she told Jesse and Reyes to make sure he was mentally okay. 

And all of the others were either their same old selves, like Reinhardt or Torbjorn, or changed for the bette…or worse. 

Anela made a mental note to keep an eye on Jack. He was more belligerent and short tempered than he used to be. Anela wasn’t too worried. Jaramogi and some of the younger members seemed to have a positive effect on him, not letting him turn too far into himself. 

Her current puzzle, though, was Hanzo. 

She heard plenty about him from Jesse, Bryn, Hana, and Genji. Genji was his brother’s biggest advocate, much to Anela’s surprise. Anela had a big part with Genji’s care back in the day, being Blackwatch’s head medic and she remembered how he always expressed hate toward his brother. Now, it was a complete 180 and Anela was pleased with Genji’s change of heart. She preferred his light hearted, teasing nature now. He had even told her stories about how Hanzo used to be when they were young, and she wondered where that man went. He apparently used to have the best sense of humor and was as much of a little shit as Genji was. 

Jesse had introduced her to the archer and Anela was intrigued right away in a medical sense. She had seen him converse with his brother, and the brothers even seemed to be getting along. Anela overheard them poking fun at each other the other day during training, and it was entertaining to listen to. 

And the fact Jesse and Hana could befriend him, slowly but surely, only told her positive things. 

But she wanted a full assessment. 

Unfortunately, that meant getting him to actually talk to her. Jesse had told her ‘Good luck Angel, he’s slipperier than an eel,’ with a laugh and a tip of the hat. And that wasn’t an understatement. Anela had tried talking to him many times, only to get a gruff response and a quick goodbye. He seemed to avoid her the most out of all the members of the small Overwatch team. She didn’t know if it was because she was new and he was still sizing her up or if it was something else. 

Her luck finally struck gold one night. 

She was walking back to her quarters from the med bay. She had stayed up late with Ana trying to upgrade both her and the sniper’s biotic grenades and they finally called it quits. 

It wasn’t too late, so Anela decided some warm tea wouldn’t hurt and she headed to the kitchen. 

She opened the big, swinging industrial doors and halted in her tracks when she saw the archer already standing next to the stove. A teapot sat on one of the spots. Hanzo looked at her, eyes narrowing slightly before he turned back to the matcha he was currently working on. 

Taking a deep breath, she calmly walked over to the counters, trying to be normal and nonchalant. Anela got out her own tea, a fruity green, and went about her own routine. She set up her infuser and moved for the kitchen’s teapot. 

“You can use some of mine,” Hanzo suddenly said, gesturing to his teapot. 

Anela gave him a small smile. “Oh! Thank you.”

He looked back at his matcha. “No point in heating up two.”

“Hm…”

Anela patiently waited, leaning back against the counter and crossing her arms. She saw the head of his dragon tattoo peeking out past the sleeve of his robe and she was struck with inspiration. 

“How long did it take?” Anela asked, hoping he wouldn’t blow her off like he usually did. 

Hanzo gave her a confused frown. “What?”

She gestured to his left arm. “Your tattoo.”

Hanzo hummed in thought. “Three sessions, I believe.”

Anela whistled. “Damn. Mine only took a few hours.” 

The elder Shimada arched a brow. “You have a tattoo?”

“Yeah,” Anela turned and pulled at the back of her collar, knowing that the horns of the manta ray could peek out, “I got it when I was sixteen.”

“What is it?” 

Anela straightened her shirt, turning back around. “A manta ray.” 

He nodded and the conversation promptly fizzled into a tense silence. 

Anela could get why he avoided her. He avoided her like he avoided many of the former Overwatch members. The only ones she saw him even bother with were Genji and Jesse. 

She silently held his stare. She could tell he was studying her as much as she was him. Jaramogi gave her the same look when she first joined. 

Snipers, Anela laughed in her mind. 

“I would ask why you got a dragon, but I think the answer is obvious,” she stated, holding his stare. 

He huffed, smirking a little before pulling the teapot off it’s spot. He filled her cup up first—whether to get rid of her faster or to be polite, she couldn’t tell—and he went about his routine. 

“Why do you have to do matcha like that? Genji would never tell me,” she asked, hoping she wasn’t prodding too much. She knew that too much could make someone bolt sometimes. 

Shimada calmly stopped making his tea. “I know what you are up to.”

“Oh?” Anela asked, taking a sip of her own tea.

“Yes, and I would suggest stopping, Dr. Kahale.” His eyes were piercing as he looked at her. Damn, he must have been scary when he was the leader of the Shimada clan. 

“And why is that?” she asked, looking him in the eye. It took a lot of intimidate her. She used to argue with an angry Gabriel Reyes, after all. Hanzo Shimada was a step down from that when it came to glares. 

“I know what you truly think of me. It’s foolish to attempt to make me think otherwise.” 

Anela arched a thick brow. “And what do I think of you, Shimada? I’m curious to learn about your mind reading ability.”

His eyes narrowed and she could tell he was barely hanging onto what he wanted to say. “You were…” he paused and looked away, Anela could see his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped, “I know you were involved in my brother’s care, being a part of Blackwatch as he was. I know you know more about what I did to him than others.”

Suddenly, it all made sense. 

Angela and Hanzo did not get along, by what Anela has seen. 

“Just because Angela doesn’t like you doesn’t mean I won’t.” She set her tea down and crossed her arms, resting her hip on the counter. “I haven’t got a chance to make that decision, after all. You barely talk to me as is.” 

Shimada scoffed. “Surely you can’t possibly think that—“

“I trust Genji and Jesse implicitly,” she interrupted, holding up a hand. “And they have decided to trust you. They’re two of the smartest and best judges of character I know.” She leaned forward into his space. “And that is why I have decided to hold my judgement on you, Shimada Hanzo, until I can see what they see and make my own decision.” 

She poked his shoulder. “And you don’t scare me. I was Blackwatch’s doctor.” 

With that, she picked up her tea and walked out of the kitchen, leaving him with her words. 

She thought she heard a huff of laughter, but she didn’t think too hard on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Hanzo so he's gonna show up a lot.


	26. Mom Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaramogi discovers a hard truth.

Jara discovered something about her and her team and she didn’t know whether to think it was funny or not. 

Everyone started to jokingly call her ‘mom’. 

Hana started the trend, Lucio quickly started doing it too, then it just went on and on. 

Fareeha jokingly said, ‘thanks Mom’ when she simply reminded her to ice her injured shoulder. Angela had given her an understanding look after that. 

Genji then said it when she covered him in a simulation later that week. “Thanks mom!” he had chirped, hopping off to flank more enemies, leaving her baffled and flustered.

When Lena, Mei, Anela, Zarya, Jesse and multiple others started to call her ‘mom’ she realized a very important fact.

She was the ‘mom’ friend. 

She lamented this to Jack, who only started to laugh. 

“It’s not funny!” she huffed, tossing a wad of paper at him. They were working out tactics for a future op and the wad of paper was a reject. 

Jack leaned back in his office chair, smacking he paper wad away, smirking at her. Oh no, she was in dangerous territory now. “Yes, it is,” he retorted. 

“Why is it?” She propped her feet up in his lap, picking up her holopad. 

“Now you know how I feel when everyone calls me ‘dad’.” The smirk widened. 

Jara rolled her eyes. “It’s because you act like it.”

“And you act like a mom.”

Jara grinned, tapping at her holopad. “Does that make us the team parents?”

His hands rested on her feet, which were bare and he started to gently rub at them. She internally shivered when his fingers trailed up her calf for a second. “I guess it does,” he laughed softly. 

Ever since Jack kissed her on that mission, he suddenly became more prone to touching her, not that Jara was complaining. They both were private people, and she cherished these moments when it was just them. She flinched when his fingers found a ticklish spot on the sole of her foot. Jack eyed her for a moment. 

“Jack Morrison, I will kick you,” Jara warned, furrowing her brow. 

“Noted.” He took his hands off her feet and got back to work on his own holopad. 

They worked in silence for many moments, only occasionally inquiring about a certain idea, and Jara could feel him watching her after about an hour. She looked up, grinning at how he had his head perched on his hand, watching her from his spot. “Yes?” she asked, feeling her cheeks heat up. 

He shrugged, a small smile coming to his lips. 

She tapped his thigh with her foot, holding back a laugh. “What?”

“Nothing,” he answered, still smiling. 

“Liar.” She nudged his leg again. “What is it?”

She could barely see the tint of pink on his cheeks and he cleared his throat. “I just like watching you.” 

Jara could tell the admission took a lot out of him, so she lowered her legs and scooted her chair closer to his. She leaned across and kissed his cheek. She barely pulled away, grinning at him and he smiled back. She knew he had to get used to this type of intimacy again, so she was a little surprised when he reached up and rested his hand on her cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. Her ears pricked when she heard footsteps outside the door, but she didn’t want to pull away. 

Jara inhaled deeply and the scent of sugar, motor oil, and bubblegum warned her of Hana’s presence. 

“Gross!”

She looked toward the door, giving her an amused grin while Jack just frowned. “Whattaya want kid?” he grumbled, standing up. 

“I was going to ask for help fixing my MEKA again, but you’re obviously busy,” the girl teased. 

Jack’s frown only grew. “What needs fixing this time?” he asked, moving toward the door. 

“The leg is catching again, Pops,” she informed, smiling wickedly. “Aren’t you going to say bye to Mom?” 

Jara stiffened and it was her turn to frown at the girl. “Hana—“

Her retort was cut off when Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t wait up for me,” he said softly, then he frowned at Hana, “Her MEKA always takes _hours_ to fix.”

“Not my fault! I was guarding your butt!”

“Let’s go, punk.” 

Jara couldn’t help but smile at the scene, watching Jack throw light hearted quips back and forth with the young agent. 

It reminded her of simpler times and she was glad to see him becoming more relaxed around other agents. 

And she wouldn’t want to be team parents with anyone else.


	27. La Siene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bryn thinks about those important in her life.

Bryn hated this time of year. 

The anniversary of her dad’s death and the Switzerland base disaster was right around the same time. She hated how the month of October was the time she lost her dad and the man she saw as a father. She used to love October. All the tasty treats were in the stores and she loved the chill that would settle over Ireland. 

Now, it was just a painful reminder of how she couldn’t get hot chocolate with her dad and work on tech in the lab and how she would never see Reyes in one of his stupid Halloween costumes again. 

Bryn walked down the street of Paris, doing Recon for Winston. It was a week before Halloween, so all the decorations were out. She remembered a similar walk she took with her dad once. Overwatch had just taken France back from the omnics and he had decided to take her out for a stroll down the beautiful streets. 

Bryn could be a spitting image of Jonathan McFinnigan. He had the same dark red hair and spattering of freckles over his strong features. Bryn just looked like her mom in the face and eyes. She had her father’s strong nose, high cheek bones and everything else. And he was far more intelligent than her. Bryn couldn’t pull off half the shite her father could with tech, she was good, but he was an expert. It was his additions to Overwatch’s and gear that allowed them to take back Britain and France at all. 

She was 10 or 11 years old when they got to Paris, and he wanted to spend time with her outside of the lab.

She remembered being able to munch on a crepe as she walked along the Siene with her dad.

 _“A leanbh,”_ he had said, _“I’m sorry I can’t do more fun things with ye.”_

Bryn remembered not caring. She loved the life she had with her dad. She thought testing out their weapons and gear was more fun than anything. 

_“Do you know why I do what I do fer Overwatch, leanbh?”_

Bryn at the time thought it was just to beat up omnics and make cool tech. She stopped in her tracks, looking out over the Siene. She leaned against the railing of the bridge, staring into the water below. She could almost see a younger version of herself peering over with her dad. 

_“Yer mom died because of war. Overwatch is fixin’ ta stop it, and I’m fixin’ to help ‘em after this Crisis is over.”_ Bryn looked up from the water and up at the cloudy sky, blinking rapidly. _“And I’m not gonna make ye stay, leanbh. You can go to school, live a normal life after this. I’ll make sure I stay in a base close by and-“_

Bryn had to give her dad credit. He never wanted her to become a soldier. He wanted her to have a normal, peaceful life. She remembered how hard he laughed at her answer. 

“But Dad,” she whispered, grinning, “Who’s gonna check fer the mistakes ya always make in yer equations?”

_“Well shite, ye are me kid.”_

Bryn grinned wistfully, continuing toward her destination. She passed by the Louver, turning on the microphone that would allow Athena to listen in on the conversations around her. There was a supposed Talon base in the city, and Winston just wanted to see if it was possible to break into it. 

The scientist and the former Blackwatch members put their heads together and they came to a final conclusion. If Morrison and Amari weren’t going to help them get to the bottom of what happened to Reyes, Talon had to know. 

They were poking a sleeping bear, but Bryn had to know what happened. 

If anyone would be able to sneak into Talon and hack into a computer, it was going to be Bryn, Genji, and Jesse. They did shite like this all the time back in the day. 

Thinking about Reyes brought up another memory. 

Again, it was in Paris. It was about three weeks after her dad was killed, and Reyes had taken her out. He claimed she was fouling up the base with her mood. 

Reyes was actually a kind soul when he needed to be. But Bryn could see now that he did the tough love act because she wouldn’t have listened to anything else. The glimpse of the warm hearted person he actually was shone through on their trip in Paris. Bryn learned something shocking about the man that day. The Omnic Crisis was over, and he was recently overlooked for the commanding position, so Bryn expected him to be more sour than a lemon. 

Instead, he bought her crepes, just like her dad used to, and he dragged her to the various costume shops around town. “We’re having a Halloween party for the elite strike team and you’re joining.”

“Why me?” she had protested. 

Reyes looked her square in the eye. “Because your dad made most of our tech and weapons. You’re an honorary member.” He started to walk down the street again. He then shrugged. “Besides, we need to decide where you’re gonna go now. You’re not a soldier.”

Bryn opened her mouth to protest but immediately shut it when he had glanced at her over his shoulder with a smirk. “At least, not yet.”

He didn’t let her pick the leprechaun outfit she wanted. Instead, he found something cooler. 

They went as a pair that year. Her as a mad scientist and him as monster. 

Blackwatch was a secret even in Overwatch, so Reyes had given her a surprise when he asked her to join. 

Again, they were walking through Paris and it was mid-November. 

_“You got a lot of potential kid. And after a couple years of training, you could be one of the best assets we could have.”_

Bryn looked up at Notre Dame, remembering how she and Reyes were looking up at the church when he said this. The bastard was an art freak, dragging her to the various gothic churches in the city. 

The comm in her ear beeped and she knew Athena found something. 

“Well,” she declared, looking up at the stained glass, “I’ll be damned.”

Looks like she was going to be extremely interested in church pretty soon.


	28. Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse McCree is a badass.

Anela found herself getting back into the swing of things pretty quickly. 

Especially on missions. 

She, Genji, Bryn, and Jesse were usually sent together, since they had so much experience on missions before. This mission was a recon mission. Jesse and Anela were dressed up as a couple casually walking through Numbani for a day out. Genji was hopping around doing what he did best. Bryn was hacking into every system available. 

They were trying to find out information about a new omnic a young mechanical engineer made. Winston was hoping to recruit the two of them into Overwatch’s cause. Or at least be allies. Anela didn’t think the old Blackwatch crew was a good group to send, but maybe Winston just wanted to know more about them before sending some people like Angela and Ana out to meet them in person. 

Anela was enjoying her day with Jesse, despite her skeptical thinking. Their relationship was in it’s budding stages, but she enjoyed seeing this side of him immensely. Before, they did a careful dance around each other, knowing the other was interested but neither willing to take that step forward. 

Anela never thought too much about it, just happy to have what she had now with him. 

Jesse was acting like the bumbling, carefree persona he put on when doing undercover ops when he was asking the locals about the ‘cool new omnic in town’ and the locals were more than happy to talk about her. Anela made the gasps of amazement when needed, clutching to Jesse’s arm. 

They continued their way toward the Overwatch museum. 

“Orisa, huh?” Jesse drawled, reaching up toward his head. He promptly dropped his hand. Anela held back a laugh. He wasn’t wearing his trademark hat, opting for the suburbia look to match her ‘mom outfit’ as Hana so lovingly put it.

Anela thought she looked sensible with her cargo shorts, walking sandals and t-shirt. Then again, she was close to 40. Who knew? Jesse was in a similar attire. It was almost strange to be able to see his toes instead of his boots.

“I’m curious to meet Efi, she sounds like someone who truly could do some good,” Anela commented, taking a picture with her phone. 

Jesse chuckled, which caused shivers to go down Anela’s spine. She always did like his voice. “Ya jus’ wanna meet a fellow kid prodigy.”

“I know nothing ‘bout engineering, good sir,” Anela retorted, taking a picture of him with the museum in the background. 

“You could figure it out. Hell, yer smarter than me.”

Anela furrowed her brow. “Jesse.”

“What?” He reached up for his nonexistent hat again. One of his nervous habits. 

“You’re smart too.”

“Naw, I’m not.”

Anela rolled her eyes and poked at his forehead. “How many people can come up with a plan on the top of their head and take down a group of Talon agents by themselves?”

“Plenty of folks.”

Anela frowned. She hated how he downplayed himself sometimes. “Jesse McCree,” she hissed, “You are smart.” She clutched at the front of his polo shirt. “And a badass.” 

Jesse pushed his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, arching a brow at her. 

Anela held her hard stare. She reached out and rested her hand on his cheek. “Jess, I don’t know where you get the idea that you aren’t.”

He huffed out a laugh and stepped closer to her. “Shit, Angel, when I’m surrounded by people like you, Angela, Bryn, and Winston, it’s hard to not feel stupid sometimes.”

Anela smirked. “And I feel stupid on missions like this with you around.”

Jesse grinned. “And why’s that?”

“I just do. I can’t act natural.”

He laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Aw, darlin’ yer makin’ me blush.”

“You don’t blush.”

“Sure do, only aroun’ you though.”

Anela gently elbowed him, laughing. 

“If you two are done being gross,” Genji said over their comms, “I have found Orisa and Efi. They’re a block from you.”

Jesse huffed and wiggled his finger in his ear, which caused a shrill whistle to sound through everyone’s comms. “Hear that, Angel? I think it’s a bug or somethin’.” 

“Jesse McCree if you do that again I’m blowing a hole in yer ass,” Bryn growled. 

Jesse actually paled and Anela couldn’t hold back a laugh. 

Some things never change.


	29. I Won't Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jara remembers the exact moment she realized she had a stupid crush

Jaramogi was forced to remember when she realized she liked Jack one day over drinks with the girls. 

She, Fareeha, Angela, Mei, Lena, Zarya, Bryn, Hana, and Anela were sitting at the tables in the kitchen, remembering good times and telling Hana stories. Then the subject of crushes had to come up. 

“Look, nothing was as sad as watchin’ Mogi here pine after Morrison,” Bryn was saying, jerking a thumb toward Jaramogi. 

Hana had a devilish grin on her face and all of the other members were either giving her understanding or teasing looks. 

“When _did_ you start liking pops, Mama Mogi?” Hana asked, sipping on her concoction. Jara could smell the small splash of rum Anela had put in it. 

Jara knocked back the rest of her drink. It was a little embarrassing, now that she thought about it. “Very long time ago.”

Fareeha coughed into her hand. “Day three.”

Angela gave a hiccupping cough. “Day one.” 

Jaramogi pointed at them. “Wrong.”

They both rolled their eyes. 

“When _did_ you start liking him? It was hard to tell with your repressed emotional state and stuff,” Anela asked, pouring herself a drink. 

Jara didn’t answer right away, letting herself get swept up in the memory….

* * *

It was New Year’s Eve, and the Elite Strike Team was having their yearly party. At least, that’s what Ana and Angela told Jaramogi. Fareeha and Ana let her come to their quarters and try on various dresses to wear and they even had Angela come to do her make up. Before long, she was walking down the hall with a knee length red dress and a big smile. 

It was month 8 of Jaramogi’s time in Overwatch. She had already experienced more friendships and happy moments than she did in her 8 years in the APC. She was close with both the Overwatch Elite team and Blackwatch’s Elite, since she was running ops for both. Both teams were at the party tonight. 

Jaramogi walked in, taking in all the sights and sounds around her. The dining room was transformed into an impromptu dance floor and sitting area. There wasn’t too much going on, since it was just the Elite teams. Ana was guiding Jaramogi across the dance floor toward where Captain Reyes was standing. 

“He didn’t show?” she asked, letting Jaramogi’s arm slip from hers. 

Reyes looked cleaned up in his dress shirt, tie, and jacket. “Nah, he’s coming. Had a last minute call with the President,” he rolled his eyes, “Can’t say no to that guy.”

Ana arched a brow. Reyes did the same. “Trust me, I tried back during the Crisis. Almost got kicked out.”

Jara soon tuned their conversation out, watching everyone smile and talk around the room. Everyone was carefree and happy. It was almost as if the world didn’t have any problems. The Blackwatch team was talking to Fareeha. The newest medic was smiling brightly at the younger Amari and Jesse was looking smitten…as usual. 

Bryn looked bored. 

The other members of Blackwatch were either mingling with their Overwatch counterparts or dancing out on the floor. 

Jaramogi was eventually pulled into a conversation with Angela and Anela, who were talking about her implants. Jaramogi was more than willing to answer their questions and they got back to their theories. 

She let herself focus in on the smells and sounds in the room. She could smell the sandalwood perfume Ana always wore. She could make out Gabriel’s spicy cologne. Jesse’s smell was recognizable, thanks to his cigars and soap he used. He smelled like the earth and smoke. Angela smelled sweet, like sugar or cake. Anela smelled sweet in a fruity way. Both of them had an underlying smell of antiseptic though, causing her to feel slightly nauseous. Bryn smelled like cigarettes and ozone somehow. She probably burned herself in the lab again. 

She continued to keep her eyes closed and try to identify each person in the room from their sound and smell alone. It was something she always did, just so she could protect them that much better in the field. She usually heard them before she saw them. 

A new smell entered the mix, causing her to stiffen. 

Strike Commander Morrison always smelled distinct. He smelled like pine trees and rain. And he smelled stressed. 

Jaramogi opened her eyes and she immediately found her Commander. He was talking with Reyes and Amari, running his fingers through his hair. 

“He’s going to run himself ragged one of these days,” Angela huffed. 

Jaramogi barely acknowledged her. Commander Morrison was a mystery to her. All of the commanding officers she knew in the past barely went out in the field and they were cold as ice, not even acknowledging her existence. Morrison was the opposite. While he was stern, anyone could tell he cared for his soldiers. He even made time to talk to her! A small, village girl from Kenya who has barely seen even a smidge of what he has. 

Yet…he never treated her as such. 

Jaramogi was just getting used to letting herself feel again, and she couldn’t put her finger on the fluttering feeling her heart would always get when Morrison looked at her. Or how her skin would feel electrified when he stood close to her. 

She even felt a shiver go down her back when he spoke once. 

Those were not normal feelings, and they terrified her. 

But at the same time, she loved those feelings. They were proving that she was growing and healing from her time in the ACP. She was learning how to smile and laugh again. She was learning how to break the mask of impassivity that she always kept on her face and she was daring to make friends again. 

But no one made her feel like how Morrison did. 

The night went on, but despite Bryn and Jesse’s jokes, ribbing from Fareeha, and Reyes comfortable, silent presence, her attention kept getting drawn back to the Strike Commander. 

Reyes caught her once, even though she knew she was being discreet. “You know, he wouldn’t be against dancing with you,” he casually said, gesturing to the other couples on the dance floor. 

Jaramogi gave him a confused look. “Why?”

Gabriel Reyes was more lively and prone to laugh than most would believe. He let out a loud bark of laughter at that one, much to Jaramogi’s confusion. “Trust me, kiddo. I’ll even put the idea in his brain.”

“Wait, Captain Reyes—“ 

He was already sauntering off toward his friend. 

Jaramogi didn’t know what the exchange meant, but she just let it go. She slowly sipped on champagne with the rest of her friends and watched the fireworks with wide eyes. This was almost as magical as Christmas felt. After midnight, most of the agents started to go to bed, but Jaramogi wanted to stay up just a little longer, watching the very last of the fireworks. 

A slow song with a guitar started to play and Jaramogi swayed with the music, humming happily. 

She heard him before anything else. She even knew how his heart beat sounded. 

“Care to dance?”

Jaramogi whipped around, eyes wide in shock. Commander Morrison did not look like he was joking whatsoever with a soft smile. His hand was still extended. Jaramogi looked around, noticing that the only people in the room were Jesse McCree, who was passed out at a table, and Reinhardt, who was sitting next to him and humming along with the song. 

She pointed to herself. “Me?”

Morrison let out a low laugh, which caused that shiver to go down her spine again. “Yes, you.”

Heart pounding, Jaramogi finally put her hand in his. 

He guided her out into the corner of the dance floor, expertly leading her into a slow dance. He held her hand up and rested his other on her lower back, keeping a respectful distance between them. 

She rested her other hand on his shoulder, gulping down the lump in her throat. 

_“When I look into your eyes;  
It’s like watchin’ the night sky”_

Jaramogi perked up a little. “I know this one.”

Morrison tilted his head, eyes narrowing in amusement. “Oh?”

“Yes, Angela made me listen, she likes old songs.”

“She does, doesn’t she?”

They continued to slowly sway to the music. 

_“I see that you've come so far;  
To be right where you are;  
How old is your soul”_

Morrison readjusted his grip and started to lead her into a more intricate dance. “You looked really happy tonight,” he commented. 

Jaramogi looked down at their feet with a blush. “I did?”

_“Well I won't give up on us;  
even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love,   
I'm still looking up”_

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re fitting in well.” He cleared his throat. “Ana and I worried about you for a little bit.”

Jaramogi looked at him with wide eyes. “You…worried about me?”

Morrison looked flustered. “It’s not that we thought you would do bad or anything. We were worried you wouldn’t get out of that funk the APC had you in.” He shrugged. “I’m glad to be proven wrong.”

Jara couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her commander worried about her?

He cleared his throat again. “And you looked beautiful tonight. It’s good to finally see you smile.”

Jaramogi’s heart leapt up to her throat and her breath hitched. He…thought _she_ was beautiful?

Never, has anyone told her that. 

Sure, all of her friends told her so, but for some reason this was different. 

_“'Cause even the stars they burn  
Some even fall to the earth  
We've got a lot to learn  
God knows we're worth it  
No, I won't give up.”_

Morrison twirled her around and she felt breathless when she was fully back in his arms. The steps he led her in were smooth and for the first time in her life, she felt weightless and graceful. 

“Thank you,” she squeaked. 

He grinned at her, causing the corners of his eyes to wrinkle up slightly. 

Between how he was looking at her and the crescendo of the song, Jaramogi felt like she was in a dream. 

They slowed down again at the end of the song, simply swaying. 

_“I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)  
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)  
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)  
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)”_

The songs final chords finally played and Jaramogi finally realized what the feeling was as he stepped away from her with another warm smile. “Do you need someone to walk you back to your room?” he asked. 

Jaramogi’s heart was still in her throat and she felt terrified and exhilarated at once. 

She _liked_ him. 

Her heart thudded with the realization and she felt pure energy running through her veins. She couldn’t remember the last time she ever felt like this. She couldn’t remember the last time she wanted someone to simply hold her and be beside her. 

God, she even wanted him to kiss her just now. 

She finally nodded, letting him guide her back to her room and he left when she was safely inside. 

Only when his footsteps faded away did she let herself fall back against her door with a heavy thud, burying her face in her hands with a wide smile. 

While she knew anything with him was impossible, she took joy in this. 

She was _feeling_ again.

* * *

“So, Mama Mogi, are you ever gonna tell us?” Hana jabbed, poking her arm. 

Jaramogi smiled, looking at all her friends. 

“I figured out I liked him on the New Year’s Eve of my first year in Overwatch. He danced with me.”

All of the former Overwatch members either spat out their drinks or stared at her with shrewd looks. 

“Since when?” Bryn demanded, readjusting her glasses. 

Anela was the shrewdest of them all. Angela was a close second. 

“It was after you all left. I stayed to watch the last of the fireworks. He asked me to dance with him.” Jaramogi shrugged. “He’s actually not a bad dancer.”

That got a bigger uproar than the confession itself. 

“Bullshite, he’s the worst dancer.”

Fareeha was trying to control her laughter. Angela was snorting she was laughing so hard. 

All of the members were trying to control themselves. 

“Ask Reinhardt, he saw us.”

Hana took her up on that, calling the old man up on her comm. 

All the women watched with wide eyes as they waited for the Korean to finally give the verdict. 

She hung up on the call, giving everyone a flabbergasted look. “They did!”

The kitchen became an uproar. 

Jaramogi simply sipped on her drink, wondering if she should bring this up to Jack or not.

* * *

She ended up doing it. 

They were working on their respective guns, listening to the quiet music they asked Athena to play. Jack was grumbling at a hitch in his pulse rifle and Jaramogi was adjusting her scope. Finally, she struck. She got onto her phone and silently sent Athena a message requesting the song they danced to all those years ago. 

The first chords played and Jack froze. 

He looked up at the speakers. “Is this…”

Jara tried to act surprised. “I think so.”

Jack looked at her with narrowed eyes. “This is on purpose.”

Caught. 

“Maybe.”

Jack put down his tools. “Why?”

Jaramogi explained how she had to talk about when she realized she liked him. “It just…happened.” She toed at a smudge on the floor. “And that was my first real dance.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Jaramogi realized he was standing really close now. She gave him a teasing grin. “No kidding.”

Jack looked at her for many moments before finally stepping away from the bench. “Care to dance?” he asked quietly. 

Jaramogi couldn’t stop her smile if she tried. This dance was different than the one from all those years ago. This time, they stood much closer, foreheads almost touching. He still held her hand up, letting his other rest on her waist. 

“You wore red that night,” he whispered. 

“You remembered,” Jara laughed breathlessly. 

“You were beautiful in it. Hard to forget.”

She couldn’t stop herself from kissing him if she tried.


	30. A New Friend

Bryn didn’t know what to think when she got a message from the hacker herself. 

The former Blackwatch hacker had been on the woman’s tail for weeks now. Tracing blips of information across various places in the world. The latest was from Italy, where Reaper and now Doomfist of all people were seen. 

That asshole just had to come back into the mix because, of course, that’s what happens. 

The purple skull seemed to laugh at her from her inbox. Looks like she wasn’t the only one following trails. The new Overwatch team moved to another abandoned base in Germany. Bryn was glad Winston took her advice to try to avoid getting hacked again. 

Well, if the hacker was following her, she was more than happy to go AWOL a little bit to protect the new team. 

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Athena?”

“Yes, Agent McFinnigan?”

“Tell Winston I’m taking a trip.”

* * *

And that, was how Bryn found herself back in London. 

She remembered Kings Row all those years ago. She was hacking into everything she could so Jesse could feck up the Null Sector bots as much as possible. The UN could track Athena. They couldn’t track her. They thought she was a simple weapons engineer who could actually shoot a gun. 

Gabe took a gamble sending them and only them in. 

“Jack is stuck between a rock and hard place. We’ll do what we can. The rest is up to him. Those people can’t wait while the UN forces us to have our thumbs up our ass.”

Nostalgia washed over her at the memory Gabe saying that in the living room of his quarters. All of them had drinks in hand, watching yet another news report of the Uprising. 

Gabe had then told him that he trusts them to do the right thing and not get caught while doing so.

At that point, Jesse and Bryn had been up to shenanigans for 13 years. They had this in the bag. 

Bryn walked by a pub Lena always mentioned. 

And that’s when she saw the woman from the Volskaya footage. 

She remembered Reaper growling the name Sombra during the clip. As far as Bryn knew, the hacker didn’t know that she knew her name. She didn’t see or hear it anywhere else in her chase. She hoped that information was her Ace, because she didn’t have much else. And since Sombra set up this meeting, Bryn opted to think Sombra couldn’t find much on her either. 

Bryn knew she had to be careful. This woman probably had fingers in every pie out there. And who knew if she was actually supportive of Talon. That didn’t matter. Bryn wanted to know what her intentions were for Overwatch and Overwatch only. 

She wasn’t going to let some punk Talon member fuck with her team.

She walked into the pub, taking a seat at the bar a seat away from the woman. 

“You’re late,” the woman said, smirking into her glass. 

Bryn shrugged. “Decided to take a stroll.”

That was a trick of Gabe’s. Act indifferent or uninterested, and the person wanting to make a deal will be quicker to try to sell their part of the deal. Made for manipulating the situation into your favor easier. 

This woman probably used that trick herself. 

All Bryn got in response was a smirk. 

Bryn took her time, ordering a beer from tap instead of hard stuff. She sipped on it, almost remembering the reason why she stopped drinking beer. It involved her, Jesse, Genji and a trip to the med bay. 

She didn’t remember most of that night and Anela was pissed.

Gabe was even more pissed. 

“That was a nice trick you did, stopping my tech,” Sombra said, inspecting her nails. They looked more like perfectly manicured blue claws instead. The woman went for a blue ensemble instead of the purple. “I was thinking I would be able to finally get through the AI’s firewalls.”

Bryn inwardly preened but kept up the indifferent act, looking for a good rugby match to focus on. “Thanks.”

_Make them fish for it chiquita, don’t ever just cut to the chase._

Dammit, even with the likelihood that Gabe was indeed alive, his voice still guided her every day. 

He was the only one that could teach her to be patient, in the end. 

The woman’s nails clacked against the counter. “Wow, Gabe taught you better than I thought.”

Bryn had activated her 360 vision on her glasses before she walked in, so she could see that the woman was smirking as she stared down at her drink. 

So, that confirmed it. 

Reaper was Gabriel Reyes, and this woman was using that to fuck with her. 

“He did.”

_And stay level headed, you’ll waste more time than save when you screw up._

They sat in silence, and Bryn kept sipping her beer as she watched the rugby match on the screen. 

She decided to make the first move, since Sombra looked content to just examine her own nails and sip on her beer. 

“So what does a hacker like you want with little ol’ me? I’m a washed up retired Overwatch Agent.” She sipped her beer. 

The woman let out a huff of laughter. Dammit, Bryn was starting to notice how pretty she was. 

“Don’t you mean retired Blackwatch agent? I looked up all of Gabe’s niños. You were one of his best agents.” She shrugged. “Or third best.” 

Ah, so she knew about McCree and Genji, which wasn’t a surprise. McCree had said there were old Blackwatch agents among Talon. 

None of them probably kept their mouths shut. 

Bryn finally spared the woman a glance. She knew ‘Mad Dog’ was showing when the woman’s smirk fell…just barely. Bryn knew she could look crazy or ready to blow someone’s head off in moments. She still had it if she could still do it with a side eye. 

“Yer damn right I was. So what the fuck are ya after?”

“I want info.” Looked like Sombra was done playing games too. She looked at her nails again. “Overwatch hasn’t been noticed, but where you’ve been showing up is random.” She looked at Bryn again. “It’s almost as if the monkey wants to solve all the problems at once and he doesn’t know where to start.”

Bryn finally turned her head, curling her lip. “Call him a monkey one more time and this conversation is over.”

Shit, she lost her cool. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

Sombra rolled her eyes. “Alright, your scientist …” she actually had the gall to lean closer, “what is his plan?”

Bryn pulled a cigarette out and lit it. She took a few puffs before blowing some smoke toward Sombra. “D’ya actually take me fer a dumbass?”

Sombra shrugged. “Worth a try.” She moved to the stool next to hers. To anyone else, it looked like she was laying it on thick. She even looked sultry with her smirk and her body language. 

Bryn wasn’t buying it. 

“Here’s the thing, _hermosa,_ I know Gabe is onto me, he’s a smart guy,” she paused and leaned closer, her face inches from Bryn’s. “I was busy making friends instead.”

Bryn took out her cigarette and held it between her fingertips, resting her arms on the counter. 

Sombra grinned again. Damn, she really was pretty. The tech adorning the side of her head only made her more attractive. It was Bryn’s two favorite things in one. Women and computers. 

Sombra picked up her glass. “But you already knew that. And now that Akande is back, I won’t be able to make as many friends.” She took a drink and set her glass down. She leaned in close and, damn, she smelled nice. Bryn caught faint whiffs of cinnamon. “Someone can’t have too many friends, can they?”

Everything clicked into place. 

This woman didn’t give a shit about Overwatch or what they were doing. She wasn’t even here for Talon. 

She was scared for her own ass. 

And was doing a damn good job of hiding it until now. 

Bryn couldn’t hold back a laugh if she wanted. “Wow, yer scared the bastard’ll shoot some buck inta ya, huh?” She took a drink of her own beer. 

A muscle near Sombra’s eye twitched. It would have been missed by anyone else. But Bryn made her glasses to pick up anything and everything, and they didn’t miss. Bryn felt more confident now. 

Bingo. 

“Don’ worry, _a mhuirnín_. If he wanted ta kill ya, he would’ve done it by now,” Bryn shrugged, “If he’s the same man I knew.” She put her cigarette out in an ashtray. “But who knows, he might have changed. I heard death does that to people.”

Sombra’s eyes narrowed and Bryn didn’t change her expression, opting to hold the even stare. 

Bryn decided to play one of her Aces “So, Sombra,” she paused, relishing in how Sombra’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Why Italy? What’s Stupidfist planning?”

Sombra’s eyes hardened and Bryn finally smiled. Ah, now the little shit was taking her seriously.

“Now I see why he liked you,” she said, tilting her head. 

Bryn held her stare, refusing to blink. Sombra leaned even closer, putting her lips next to Bryn’s hair. Yep, she definitely smelled like cinnamon…and vanilla?

“I want us to be friends,” she said softly, “I’ll give you a…”she trailed off and rested her hand over Bryn’s. “Surprise, every week.”

Bryn tilted her head slightly, causing her cheek to brush against Sombra’s. “And what do you want?”

A nail traced a vein on the back of her hand. “If I lose my friends in Talon, I was hoping a new friend could help me.” 

An escape. 

“What do you think, _hermosa_?” 

Bryn will deny the shiver that went down her spine from Sombra’s lips brushing her ear till the day she died. 

Bryn didn’t lie to Winston. She told him about how the hacker would want to make a deal. Neither of them were expecting this. 

But, they needed info. And if Bryn played her cards right, if things went tits up, she would only take the fall. Not her friends. 

Bryn pulled away enough to be able to look Sombra in the face. 

“Looks like you got a new friend, _a mhuirnín._ ”


	31. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of suicide ahead, I apologize in advance.

Genji broke his damn arm….again. 

“Genji Shimada you’re a little shit,” Anela huffed, getting her tool kit out. It was her turn to man the clinic this week and this was Genji’s third time coming in. 

“I am trying to get a new technique down, I apologize, Dr. Kahale,” he replied, not sounding sorry in the least. 

Anela grumbled and set his arm on the table and took a seat on her stool. “You’re lucky Ang isn’t here,” she grumbled, giving the cyborg a pointed look. 

Genji did look sheepish at that. “I know I should take care of myself for her sake, it’s foolish of me to take these risks.” He did sound sincere at that so Anela quit her lecture early. 

“Just try not to do it again, knucklehead.” She opened the plate covering his right arm and she took a look at the part that was sparking. “I might as well give you a full check up while you’re here. That way I can see if you have any other kinks, if that’s what you want.” 

“That’s fine,” Genji said, taking off his visor and faceplate. 

Anela tapped his faceplate. “How has your vision been in that?”

“Very good. The visor doesn’t hinder anything.”

Anela finished the repair on his right arm and moved over to his left. “Alright, how has your left arm been?”

“Good, I check everything still”

Anela took off the plating on his upper chest and left arm, inspecting the skin underneath. There were slight indents where various parts of the plating touched his skin, but nothing was red. She closely inspected where his flesh met his cybernetics with a meticulous eye. “Any shortness of breath? Heart skipping a beat?”

“No.”

She pinched on the skin near his collarbone. The skin retracted immediately. “You’re not dehydrated and it’s not too taut, that means your transfusion system is working good.”

Genji nodded, following along. He had told her once that he liked how she was explaining what she was looking for as she was looking, so she always tried to do it. She knew Angela did the same thing. 

Rapid taps sounded in the hallway and both her and Genji looked toward the door in surprise to see Hanzo standing there. 

“What happened?” he asked, stepping in. 

Genji said something in rapid Japanese, waving his right arm. The tone of his voice conveyed that this wasn’t serious. 

Hanzo responded in kind and Anela couldn’t believe the situation. 10 years ago, when she first met Genji, she never imagined this scenario happening. That didn’t mean she didn’t like what she was seeing now. Hanzo’s expression was stern, but concerned. 

His whole demeanor dropped when he looked at his brother’s flesh arm. 

“Hanzo?” Genji asked, reaching forward with his metal arm. 

Hanzo promptly walked out of the med bay. 

Genji’s expression was lost and sad, which caused Anela’s heart to clench in her chest. Angela, Jesse, Zenyatta, and a few others have told her that while the brothers were getting along and talking again, Hanzo still would get like this when Genji’s body or the past was mentioned. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly, continuing her inspection of his torso. He was silent, so she moved on with her assessment, listening to his original and cybernetic lungs, then she listened to his heart. His pulse was racing, as usual. It was faster due to the fact everything in his flesh parts returned so quickly. The sound was strong and steady, despite it’s speed, so she didn’t worry about it. 

“I want him to accept this and move on as I have,” Genji finally said, brow furrowing. “I know it is not a simple task, but I want him to know the peace I have found.” He fell silent again, looking toward the door. “But sometimes, I feel as if he refuses simply because he thinks he deserves it,” he finally said softly, sighing. 

Anela set her stethoscope down, facing Genji fully. “What makes you think he does that?”

The corner of Genji’s mouth quirked up slightly. “He always was hard on himself. The expectations placed on him by the elders and my father were unfair. Failure is unacceptable to him.” Genji’s mouth fell into a frown, which was more familiar to Anela, unfortunately. She was used to Genji scowling 24/7 back in the day. “You must understand, both of us are failures in our clan’s eyes.”

Anela nodded. She knew how Japanese culture was. She knew how traditional views worked. The fact Hanzo separated from the clan was considered punishable by death in the traditional view. Genji’s sentence was acceptable to them. 

“Tell me about your relationship with him before he became clan leader,” Anela prompted. 

Genji tilted his head. “May I ask why?”

Anela shrugged. “Maybe exploring that will reveal a way for you to help him.”

Genji was silent for many moments, deep in thought. “Don’t tell anyone, but Hanzo was a smug bastard.”

Anela’s lips quirked up in a grin. “And he still isn’t?”

Genji threw back his head with a loud laugh. “You are correct. But I mean he was worse when he was younger.” The cyborg drew his legs up so he was perched on the med bay bed in the lotus position. “He would laugh at his own jokes too. He wasn’t as cool as he thought he was.”

Anela’s grin grew wider at that. She saw glimpses of that from the archer. 

“He was also more caring than he wanted others to believe. He used to look out for me when we were kids.” Genji looked sad again. “He would always cover for me if I was out getting into trouble. He would help me sneak back in when I’ve been out all night.”

Genji stared down at his hands, one cybernetic and one flesh. “He was a good older brother, until he had to start taking a more active role in the clan.” The cyborg sighed. “That…is when we started to drift apart.”

Anela bit her lip, wondering what to say. She knew that Genji was starting to become frustrated with his brother, but she also could tell that Hanzo was still adjusting. “Genji, I understand how difficult this whole situation must be. And I may be wrong since I don’t know your brother that well, but I think he just needs time. To him, you’ve been dead for 10 years. That’s enough to throw anyone off.”

Genji snorted out a laugh. “My master said the same exact thing,” he admitted, wiping at his eyes. “I don’t like seeing him in pain. I never did.”

More tears were forming in Genji’s eyes and Anela stood from her stool, heart constricting in her chest. She wrapped her arms around Genji’s shoulders, allowing him to rest his forehead on her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. 

Anela shook her head, just holding him tighter. 

Genji gently pushed away after a short time, hiccupping slightly. “I always seem to cry when I talk to you about these things.”

Anela let out a watery laugh. He always did end up tearing up a little during their deep conversations. “Yeah, we both do.” Her throat felt clogged and her eyes were watery too. 

“Thank you, for listening and for helping.” He looked away, looking embarrassed. “I realize that I failed to say so in the past. You have always been a good friend, and I never appreciated it or told you that.”

Anela shook her head and thumped him on the shoulder. “Genji, you were coping with many changes and feelings.” She picked up her stethoscope. “If it means anything, I’m just glad to see you happy now.”

Genji smiled, wiping at his eyes again. “I am happy. And I have many of you to thank for helping me along the way.”

Anela smiled and continued her assessment. “Now, if you would stop breaking your arm, we’d be golden.”

Genji’s bout of laughter could probably be heard from down the hallway.

* * *

That night, Anela was greeted with a surprise. 

She was in bed, just about to fall asleep, enjoying how Jesse’s arm was curled around her waist and his warm presence at her back, when there were loud, booming knocks on her door. 

Grumbling, Anela managed to pry herself from Jesse and she pulled a robe on over her simple camisole and pajama pants. Someone had better be dying. 

She opened her door, eyes widening in shock to see Hanzo of all people standing at her door. The archer wobbled slightly and he leaned his hand heavily against the door frame. “I must speak with you,” he slurred, leaning to the side. Anela blinked rapidly when the smell of alcohol hit her. 

Shit. 

A drunk Shimada was not a good one, in both brother’s cases. 

Jesse was sitting up in bed now, blinking the sleep from his eyes. “Angel?”

“It’s fine, Santa Fe, I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Jesse was wide awake when he saw Hanzo standing at their door. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Forget it,” Hanzo snapped, started to wobble his way down the hall. 

Anela rolled her eyes. It seemed even master assassins had trouble moving around when they’re drunker than a skunk. “Jess, he said he wants to talk to me.”

Jesse rubbed at his beard. “Shit, that’s new.”

“Tell me about it.”

Jesse gestured to the door. “Call me if ya need help, Angel.”

Anela quickly moved back to the bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead before hurrying out after the assassin. 

“Hanzo, let’s go to the kitchen,” she said, catching up to him. 

The archer garbled out a response that would have sounded scathing to anyone else. Anela was easily able to push him along, gently guiding him to the kitchen. She got out a bottle of water and set it in front of him after she got him seated at the counter island. His head was in his hands and he refused to look at her. 

Taking a seat across from him, Anela was wondering if she should make a pot of the decaf coffee Jaramogi was able to get for them from Kenya. That was the _good_ shit. 

Thinking about the good shit had her getting up again and making a pot. 

When she finally had a large mug in her hands and seated at the table again, did she finally address the elephant in the room. “So, what did you need to talk to me about?”

She was pleased to see that he was holding onto the water bottle now and that it was half empty. He still wouldn’t look at her, though. He was closely inspecting the pattern on the counter with a scrutinizing eye. 

Anela waited patiently, taking a sip of her coffee. Damn, that was _**good** shit. _

“Tell me about my brother’s condition,” he finally said, looking her in the eye. Despite being drunk, his eyes were still intense and highly aware. 

Anela set her mug down. “Genji did give me permission to tell you stuff. But I am curious about the sudden interest.”

Hanzo wobbled in his seat slightly, gulping heavily. “I want to know how much of him is…” he trailed off, eyes starting to get watery. 

Just her luck, she had to help two crying Shimadas in less than 24 hours. 

“Hanzo,” Anela pushed her mug to the side and she reached forward. Tentatively, she put her hand on his over the water bottle. “Do you truly want to know?”

Hanzo took a heaving breath, looking away from her again. A tense silence fell over them for many moments and Anela gave him time to think. She wasn’t going to tell him, no matter what. He wasn’t in the right state of mind and he worried her even when he wasn’t drunk. 

Considering his culture, she was extremely worried where the knowledge about his brother would take him. 

“No,” he finally whispered, head hanging. 

Anela pulled her hand back and held her mug again. His fist suddenly hit the counter top, causing her to jump. “I hate it,” he hissed. 

“What do you hate?”

“Seeing him in the state he is,” he seethed, breaths coming faster, “All I can think is _‘I did that to him’_ and I despise myself.”

Anela’s heart broke for him, throat tightening, and tears forming. “Hanzo…”

God, what was with Shimadas and making her cry?

“I can never fix what I have done to him.” He hiccuped and waved a hand in the air. “And he tries to make it sound so easy!” He took a deep swig of water. “But it is not. It’s fucking hard to stare at your biggest mistake and regret in the face day after day.”

Never in her life had Anela seen so much sadness in someone’s eyes. Hanzo Shimada won the award. Her heart thudded in her chest as it reached out to him, wanting to soothe the hurt there. But, she had no idea how to do that for him. She opened her mouth to try to say something reassuring, but he kept going. 

“I just wish it would all go away sometimes,” he shakily whispered, staring down at his water bottle as if it had all the answers to his problems. 

Anela did not like that statement one bit. The doctor in her came out. “Hanzo, have you thought about hurting yourself?”

A heavy, tense silence filled the air around them. The fact he was taking so long to respond was causing her to worry for him more and more. 

“Sometimes,” he finally responded. He looked up at her with a knowing look, looking slightly sober. “And no, I do not have a plan, Dr. Kahale.”

Anela heaved out a heavy breath, studying him closely. The water bottle was almost gone now and he was twirling the cap between his fingers. She got up, went to the fridge, and grabbed another one for him before sitting back down. 

“Thank you,” he said softly, taking a drink from the new one. He was still twirling the cap of the other one in his fingers. 

“You’re welcome.” 

They sat in silence, and Anela felt that was what he needed, not more inquiries about his biggest problem. So, she kept drinking her coffee. 

“I didn’t expect you to like it black,” he suddenly mused. “You like everything else to be sweet.”

Anela looked down at her drink. Hold on, he noticed she dumped milk in everything else? Her tired mind ignored the question and she simply shrugged. “After med school and working in the Navy Seals and Blackwatch, you learn to just appreciate coffee in any form.”

He nodded, looking down at his water bottle. “I never could drink coffee,” he scrunched his nose, “too bitter.” 

Anela honestly wasn’t surprised. “Tremors probably don’t help with your aim either.”

Hanzo snorted out a laugh. “You’d be amazed what black tea can do.”

Anela grinned and stood to refill her mug. “What do you want to eat? It’ll help soak up some of that sake.”

“No, thank you.”

Anela frowned at him over her shoulder. “That wasn’t a suggestion. You’re eating something.”

Hanzo frowned right back. “No.” 

Anela got a bagel from the bread box and tossed it at him. He still caught it easily, which was impressive given how he could barely stand in the hallway earlier. Anela glanced at the clock to see that almost an hour has already gone by. 

“Eat. Doctor’s orders.” She sat back down, new mug of decaf in hand. 

Hanzo glared at her. Anela, not giving two shits, lightly poked his arm. “What have I told you? You don’t scare me.” She pointed to the bagel. “Eat.”

Still glaring at her, he finally took a bite. He chewed slowly and almost obnoxiously.

She refused to give into his attempt to get a reaction, simply taking another sip of her coffee. 

His expression fell again and he pinched at the bridge of his nose after he swallowed. “I apologize for waking you up at this hour. It won’t happen again.”

Anela set her mug down, folding her hands in front of her. “Hanzo, let me make this clear,” she said, looking him in the eye, “If you ever feel the need to drink yourself under the table again, please just get someone. I don’t care if its Genji, Jesse, me, anyone. Just…” she took a deep, shaking breath, “Just…find someone. I’m okay with being woken up. This is my job. I’m here for you.” She reached forward when he looked away from her again, not knowing where she was getting this bout of bravery. She turned his head to face her again, palm against his cheek. “And I know Genji and many others feel the same way.” 

His eyes were wide as he stared at her and Anela suddenly realized how similar they were to Genji’s. They were such a pretty shade of amber. 

A flash of guilt ran through her and she pulled her hand away. “Please consider that at least. And I’m always available to talk or even just sit with you.” 

Movement from her peripheral had her glancing toward the doorway to the kitchen. Jesse was leaning against the door jamb with a soft expression on his face, causing her heart to flutter. He looked between them and she could see the silent question in his eyes. She gave him a slight nod and then looked at the two empty water bottles and bagel in front of Hanzo. He gave her a smile and a nod before walking out of the kitchen, giving them their privacy again. 

“He always worries about you,” Hanzo muttered, taking another bite of bagel. 

Anela shrugged. “And I’m always worried about him.” She rolled her eyes. “When he told me about the stunt he pulled on the train I almost had a heart attack.”

Hanzo snorted out a laugh. “Was it your idea to give his arm the ability to tear through metal?”

Anela rolled her eyes. “No, it was his and Gabe’s idea. They thought it would be handy and,” she held up air quotes, “’Purty fuckin’ neat.’” Her imitation of Jesse was atrocious, but it had the desired effect.

That had Hanzo laughing.

Bent over, full out laughing. 

Anela couldn’t help but laugh with him. 

Her laughter only got stronger when a snort escaped from him as he laughed harder. 

“Who says that?” he wheezed. 

“Jesse McCree,” Anela barely managed. 

“Why do you like him?”

“I don’t know.”

And that was how Hana found them at 2 in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have a lot of feelings about the Shimada brothers, okay?


	32. Motherly

Orisa was a work of art. 

Bryn desperately wanted to check her out and figure out what made her tick, but she had to settle with asking Efi. The young engineer and Orisa were the newest additions to Overwatch, much to Torbjorn’s dismay. 

Bryn knew the old man had reasons to hate the omnics but Bryn believed he just needed to get the fuck over it for now. 

Efi was showing her Orisa’s blueprints and they were immaculate. Bryn wished her own blueprints were this clean. “So combining the energy from the core and the generator allow her to become more stabilized? That’s genius, considerin’ ya made her to fight Stupidfist.”

Efi giggled at her nickname for Doomfist and she energetically pointed to the Omnics legs. “Yes! And I made the shields moveable because I know not all enemies are going to keep coming from one direction.”

Well, the kid wasn’t an expert battle engineer…yet. 

“How fast is her fire rate? And how much damage do they do?” Bryn asked, eyeing the gun in the blueprints. 

“12 rounds per second,” Efi chirped, turning back to the part Orisa needed fixed. The omnic’s gun got damaged recently so Bryn and Efi took on the task of repairs. 

Bryn whistled, nodding in approval. 

As they continued working, Bryn had to keep reminding herself to watch her mouth. She was many things, but she didn’t want to cuss in front of the kid. 

“What did you do for Overwatch, Bryn?” Efi asked, adjusting her welding goggles before working on the muzzle. 

What didn’t I do? Bryn asked herself, staring down at the rotator in her hands. “I was a weapons engineer. I also did a sh-crap ton of computer engineering.”

“Like your glasses? Or are they goggles?” Efi looked genuinely confused and Bryn couldn’t help but grin. 

“Me glasses were me first invention,” Bryn took them off and handed them over. Shit, she was blinder than she remembered. “They can work as a tactical visor but they also give me 360 vision when I need them to. They’re a good pair of binoculars too.”

Efi tilted her head before slipping the glasses on. Her eyes looked owlish with them on. “You can also see components in machinery!” she gasped, beaming as she started to look at any piece of equipment she could. 

Bryn’s throat closed up when she remembered the first time she showed the glasses to her dad. He looked so proud and even helped her modify them. He then joked about how they looked like they came from a steampunk convention. 

Bryn admitted that they did. The yellowish tint on the glass made them look more like sunglasses or goggles. The temples were wide and tapered into the thin tips that hooked over her ears. She needed them that big so she could activate all of the different modes. They were big and round too, but Bryn had to make them that way to handle the magnifying power she wanted. 

She supposed she could make a new pair, but she didn’t really want to. 

“Use them fer a second, I think you’ll need ‘em.”

Efi worked on the gun, gasping when she realized what Bryn was talking about. “I almost cut through that wire! That would have put us back hours!”

She dug at the gun with her tools again and Bryn suddenly felt something she supposed could only be maternal settling over her. She never felt this way before, but she supposed it was because she saw so much of herself in the young engineer. 

Bryn decided she was going to protect this kid no matter what. 

She also wondered if that was what Gabe thought when he saw her and the others.

* * *

“Jesse?”

“Hm?”

They were out on the rooftop, one of their old haunts, and Bryn still couldn’t get that feeling out of her head. 

“I think I’m goin’ soft.”

McCree snorted out a laugh around his cigar. “What make’s ya say that Finny?”

Bryn blew out some smoke from her cigarette, wondering how to say this. “Efi and I were working on Orisa today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I just…Jess, I can’t let anythin’ happen to the kid. I suddenly realized I needed to make sure nothing happened to her.” She tossed the butt of her cigarette off the edge of the building. “Makes me wonder stuff too.”

McCree looked tickled pink. “Oh?”

Bryn sighed and pulled out another cigarette. “If Reyes ever thought the same thing.”

McCree fell silent, not looking so amused anymore. “Ya know he did.”

Bryn took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Sorry, I keep bringin’ him up.”

A small shove on her shoulder had her looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “Finny, I miss him too.”

They both looked up at the moon. “So, ye basically want to adopt the kid like he did us?” McCree joked a few minutes later. 

“Ye shithead,” Bryn snorted. “I’d be the worst mother.”

“Says you. Efi likes ya the most.”

Bryn gulped down the lump in her throat, not knowing what to think. “How d’ya know that?”

“She told Anela that.”

Shit, Bryn thought, trying not to grin. 

She wasn’t used to people liking her.


	33. Ice Cream

Anela was starting to see the youngest member of their team as a little sister of a sorts, which was fine with her. It reminded her of simpler times. 

Hana was also just a good companion. The girl had an understanding of the world beyond her years. So Anela didn’t mind her listening in on one of her private ukulele sessions she used to destress. Hana had found her with Athena’s help, needing a small burn to be looked at. 

“How did you even do that, _lolo?_ ” Anela asked, tuning her ukulele. 

“I was helping Lucio bake for the villagers! The stove won,” she whined, holding out her hand. Anela took it and looked at the red spot on the back of it.

“You’ll live. Just put aloe on it every morning and night.”

Hana harrumphed and crossed her arms. They were in the back room of the med bay, sitting on a bench in there. Anela usually brought people back here to do physicals. “That’s it? No magic bots?”

“Those are for missions only, _hoaloha_ , you know that.”

Anela finally finished tuning the ukulele and she played a quick rift. 

Hana’s eyes widened. “Of course you’re super good at that.” She narrowed her eyes with a grin. “Can you hula too?”

“Yes, and just like I told the _kolohe_ when he first asked, no, you can’t see.” Anela couldn’t help but grin at the memory. 

“So I got a question,” Hana said, straddling the bench they were sitting on. 

“I should have an answer.”

“Why the scruffy cowboy?”

Anela grin widened. Why the scruffy cowboy indeed. “It’s a long story. At least for me. I know he liked me close to the start of our friendship.”

Hana gestured to the room around them. “We have all the time in the world. Since were in lockdown basically.”

Anela hummed at that. Ever since Bryn left to follow the hacker that almost broke Athena’s defenses, the team had been on lockdown, causing people like Hana and Jesse to start getting restless. She played a few chords. “You want to know my part of the story now that you weaseled Jesse for his?”

Hana shrugged. “I like to know about everyone.” She gestured to Anela. “And I’m still wondering how he managed to land you. He’s pretty scruffy after all.”

The doctor couldn’t help but laugh at the gamer’s words. “He wasn’t always that scruffy. And there’s a lot more to Jesse McCree that meets the eye,” she looked away from her ukulele to smirk at the gamer. “But you already know that.”

Anela played a few more chords. “Well, to answer when I started to really like him, it was around 3 years after I met him…”

* * *

Anela could picture the day in her head perfectly. 

It was the day after a bad mission. Anela couldn’t save three of their agents and Gabe was getting flak from the UN about it. The funding for her research was balanced on the edge of a knife. Anela was thinking everything was unfair, since Overwatch’s doctor, Angela Zeigler was never put under so much scrutiny. 

Anela had hid in a secret corner of the base she was pretty sure no one had heard about yet. It was in the storage, back where some boxes haven’t moved since she joined Blackwatch. She was pretty sure no one knew what was in them. She tuned her ukulele and just started to play. 

Of course, Jesse found her. 

“Didn’ know you could play like that, Angel.”

Anela jumped and almost dropped her ukulele. She frowned. “Not now, _kolohe_.”

Jesse was dressed in the Blackwatch hoodie and sweatpants. His cactus socks and slippers and hat still kept up the cowboy look. It was ridiculous, but he wouldn’t be Jesse without them. He arched a thick brow, gesturing to the hiding spot she found. “Angel, I know ya only come back here when yer mad. I ain’t gonna let ya stew in it like ya usually do.”

Anela’s frown only got bigger. Of course he knew all along. 

That was when she noticed the case he had strapped to his back. “What the heck?”

Jesse grinned and pulled it off. “Fig’red I could join ya, considerin’ ya didn’t bite my head off first.”

Of course he played guitar. 

Knowing he would leave if she really wanted him to, she decided to let him stay. Maybe having someone else there wouldn’t be a bad idea. He was her best friend after all. Jesse McCree was the biggest surprise she got from joining Blackwatch. She knew both Overwatch and Blackwatch had many different types of characters, but a cowboy was the last thing she expected. 

And she never expected said cowboy to become one of the closest friends she ever had. 

Jesse had a carefree persona that hid how brilliant and dangerous he really was. And underneath it all she could see how kind he really was, despite his background. She knew he was never going to talk about his past, and she could respect that. But the fact he was doing what he was now and how far he’s come, according to Gabe, Ana, Jack, Angela, and everyone else who knew him from when he first joined, spoke volumes to her. 

He plopped down on the crate next to hers and got his guitar out. “Alright Angel, what’re we playin’?”

Her heart skipped a beat at the nickname and it caused her to feel confused. Since when did she react to his nicknames?

Anela decided to take it easy on him and started off with a slow, easy chord. Jesse easily matched it. 

“No one blames ya,” Jesse nonchalantly said about five minutes later. The chords had slowly gained speed and changed in that short of time. 

“The UN does,” Anela retorted, angrily striking a quick chord. 

“Fuck ‘em. Do ya really care what they think?” 

“Yes, because they fund my research. And they’re putting pressure on Gabe now because of me.”

Jesse stopped playing and rested his arms on his guitar, staring at her for many moments. Anela stopped playing and narrowed her eyes at him. God, sometimes he was an open book to her and sometimes he was like this. Unreadable as hell. 

“ _Jefe_ always gets shit from ‘em so he don’t care. I know that ain’t why yer upset.”

Anela felt her lip quiver and she set her ukulele down. Dammit, he saw right through her. 

“I know fer damn sure they don’t blame ya, angel. The situation was shit from the start. Those three knew you did everythin’ ya could.”

His words cut right through her and her heart clenched and her throat closed up as more tears formed in her eyes. Dammit. Dammit all. 

“Jess, I can still see them looking at me…” She trailed off when her throat closed up too much. 

Jesse McCree was by her side in a second, wrapping his big arms around her shoulders and pulling her close. One of his hands rested on the back of her head and that’s when the dams broke. She silently cried into his shoulder, clutching to his hoodie like it was a lifeline. 

She could feel his head resting against hers and she focused in on him instead of the three agents she let down. The familiar smell of his cigars and his soap surrounded her and she basked in the earthy, smoky smell only he seemed to have. His heart beat firm and steady and she rested her ear against his chest to keep listening to it. She saw the big wet patch on his shoulder because of it. “Sorry,” she mumbled, heart racing. 

He let out a small snort of laughter. “Angel, I don’ care. It’s a hoodie.”

He pulled away a little and tilted her chin up with a knuckle. God, why was her heart racing with the action?

It was if time slowed as she looked him in the face. The stubble that was growing heavily only brought out the sharp line of his jaw. Those lips she saw talk so many times set in a concerned frown seemed fuller than she remembered. The craggy nose, thick brows, and dark brown bangs only brought attention to his eyes. She only then realized how intense they could be, being honed in on her. They reminded her of hot chocolate and warm whiskey and she started to burn the longer they focused on her. 

Dammit, so that’s why her heart was starting to race more around him. 

Anela had noticed that she looked for his voice and his face more than others.

Of course she would develop a crush on her best friend. And it didn’t help that her best friend was attractive in all the right ways. 

Ignoring these feelings for now, she plucked at one of the strings on the hoodie. “I still ruined it.”

He chuckled and his voice rolled over her like smooth honey. Dammit. “Angel, lemme take ya out fer ice cream or somethin’. Stayin’ in the base is too stuffy fer my likin’.”

She nodded, wiping away the tears that refused to go away. 

“Atta girl. Let’s go.”

He packed up both of their instruments and carried her ukulele as he grabbed her hand and started to walk out of storage bay. Anela stared at his broad back, thinking only one thought. 

_I’m fucked._

And she found herself not being upset about it as much as she expected.

* * *

“He bought me ice cream,” she told Hana, not wanting to delve into the bad parts of being Blackwatch’s medic.

“That’s it.”

“Yep.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Anela laughed, playing a couple chords on the ukulele. “Of course there’s more. But you don’t need to know about it.”

Hana harrumphed again and made her teach her some chords on the ukulele. 

The doctor didn’t mind.


End file.
